Kolkata: West Bengal Minister of State in-charge of Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya on Sunday said that the NIA SP Dhan Ram Singh met the BJP leader Jitendra Tiwari before conducting raids at Bhupatinagar in East Midnapore district.
“Singh met Tiwari at his residence before conducting raids in Bhupatinagar,” Chandrima Bhattacharya said while addressing a media conference along with Trinamool Congress General Secretary Kunal Ghosh.
Ghosh said that during the meeting Tiwari handed over a list to the NIA Superintendent which contained the names of Trinamool Congress leaders against whom action by the Central agency was initiated.
However, Tiwari refuted the allegations. “I give an open challenge to Trinamool Congress. If they can prove these allegations I will quit politics forever,” Tiwari said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also continued with her salvos against the NIA over the Bhupatinagar incident.
“The NIA is being unleashed whenever the common people start protesting against the anti-people policies of BJP. The NIA officials reach the residences of common people at odd hours. When the local women protest, FIRs are filed against them. Their target is to arrest all booth agents of Trinamool Congress before the polls,” the Chief Minister said at an election rally in Purulia district on Sunday.
NIA has also issued notices to three other local Trinamool Congress leaders in connection with the Bhupatinagar blast case.
The three TMC leaders Nobo Kumar Panda, Sunir Maity and Manab Kumar Parua had been asked to be present at the NIA office at New Town in Kolkata on Monday.
On Saturday, the NIA team was attacked by a group of local people in Bhupatinagar when they were returning after detaining two Balai Charan Maity and Monobrata Jana.
This was the second attack on the central investigating agency in three months in West Bengal.
On January 5, ED and CAPF personnel were attacked by the locals in Sandeshkhali in which suspended Trinamool leader Sheikh Shahjahan was arrested
Soon after the attack, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed NIA for the incident, saying that NIA had harassed the women in Bhupatinagar.
(IANS)
