Kolkata: A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court has rejected the bail applications of 52 accused in the case relating to the alleged besieging and harassment of officials assigned to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) work in Mothabari in Malda district.
On Thursday, the court ordered that all of them, including Mofakkerul Islam, be sent to judicial custody. The 52 accused will remain in judicial custody till May 13.
The officials appointed by the Calcutta High Court were responsible for verifying the documents of voters on the pending list under the SIR process and settling related matters.
On April 3, an agitated crowd kept seven officials assigned to SIR work confined inside the Kaliachak-II block office till midnight. It has been alleged that a section of those whose names were excluded from the list under consideration surrounded and intimidated the officials. The incident subsequently reached the Supreme Court.
On the directions of the apex court, the Election Commission handed over the investigation of the incident to the NIA.
However, before the NIA took over the probe, Mofakkerul Islam had been arrested by the West Bengal CID, the intelligence wing of the state police. The accused were identified one by one after examining video footage of the incident and were subsequently arrested.
A total of 52 persons were taken into custody — some by the state police and others by the NIA.
However, there was a significant delay in the NIA’s investigation into the incident. The central agency alleged that despite court directions, the state police were not providing relevant investigation documents in the Mothabari case.
There was also a delay in the transfer of the case and custody of the accused. Eventually, following the intervention of the court, the police handed over the case to the NIA.
On Thursday, the accused moved bail applications, which were opposed by the NIA. The court, however, rejected the pleas and ordered judicial custody of all 52 accused.
NIA counsel Shyamal Ghosh told mediapersons: “There were 12 cases heard in connection with the Mothabari incident. Judicial custody has been ordered in all the cases. The investigating officers are trying to submit the final report in the matter at the earliest.”
(IANS)
