Kolkata: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday filed charge sheets against 23 individuals in two cases related to the harassment of judges engaged in Special Intensive Revision (SIR) work at Mothabari in minority-dominated Malda district of West Bengal earlier this year.
The chargesheet was filed at a special court of the NIA in Kolkata.
Sources aware of the development said that 23 individuals have been charged under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including attempted murder, assault on government servants, harassment, obstructing government servants in the discharge of their duties, illegal detention and obstruction of government work, among others.
In one of the two cases, 22 accused individuals have been charge sheeted, and in the other case, one individual has been charge sheeted. The charge sheet in the first case is 54 pages, and that in the second case is 11 pages.
A total of 12 cases were filed for harassment of judicial officers engaged in the judicial adjudication process during the SIR.
Earlier this month, the NIA filed chargesheets against 31 people in four cases in the matter. The four cases had three, 15, 10, and 3 accused, respectively. One of the charge sheets named the main accused Mofakkerul Islam and Ekramul Badnani.
On Tuesday, the NIA filed chargesheets in two more cases in the Mothabari case. One of the charge sheets includes the name of Rinku Aari. So far, the National Investigation Agency has filed charge sheets in 6 of the 12 cases.
On June 25, the NIA sleuths arrested Congress leader Sayem Chowdhury in connection with the Mothabari case. Chowdhury, a former Congress candidate from the Mothabari Assembly constituency, was taken into custody after prolonged questioning at the agency’s Kolkata office.
According to NIA officials, Chowdhury, also known as Babu Chowdhury, is suspected to have played a key role in organising the siege. Investigators have reportedly obtained video footage showing him making provocative remarks against the SIR process and judicial officers.
The agency also suspects his involvement in the attack on the judges’ vehicles as they returned from the BDO office.
(IANS)
