In a statement, the NIA said one of its team members sustained a minor injury and its official vehicle was damaged as it arrested “two key conspirators amid stiff resistance from an unruly crowd” in Purba Medinipur district.
“The aggressive crowd tried to stop the NIA team and its security component from moving towards Bhupatinagar police station to complete the arrest formalities. NIA has lodged a complaint at the local police station in this regard. Manorama Jana, and the other arrested accused, identified as Balai Charan Maity, were found to have conspired to manufacture and explode crude bombs to spread terror,” the NIA said, adding that the accused will be produced before the Special NIA Court in Kolkata.
The attack rekindled memories of the January 5 incident in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas when officers of the Enforcement Directorate were attacked by a crowd while conducting a search at the home of local strongman and TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh. The ED team had gone there in connection with an investigation into alleged irregularities in the state’s public distribution system. Sheikh was arrested after being on the run for 55 days.
And as with Sandeshkhali, the Purba Medinipur incident too sparked a war of wards between the BJP and TMC. At an election rally in Balurghat, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee targeted the BJP and said. “It was the NIA that attacked and not the women… At midnight, NIA officials are barging into the homes of people. What do you expect? Won’t women fight for their dignity? In 2022, there was a chocolate-bomb blast at Bhupatinagar and now the NIA has been sent… to create terror. The BJP wants to arrest all our booth presidents… They have arrested Arvind Kejriwal, Adivasi leader Hemant Soren to win the election. They have the CBI and NIA to create terror and they have the ED and Income Tax which extort money and give it to the BJP.”
“There should be a level-playing field in the elections. If you think you will grab the elections with muscle power, then you should know that India is the biggest democracy, and you will not be successful,” she said.
Later, speaking to media persons, Banerjee said, “Why did they (NIA) raid at midnight? Did they have police permission? Locals reacted in the way they would have if any stranger comes to the place at midnight. Why are they arresting people right before the elections?… We call upon the world to fight the BJP’s dirty politics.”
The BJP hit back at the Chief Minister. Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of Opposition, in a post on X, said it was “due to Mamata Banerjee’s repeated instigation” that even after the attack on ED officers in Sandeshkhali, the “TMC leaders could still dare to attack” NIA officers. He said Banerjee “spoke ill about the NIA” in Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar.
Governor C V Ananda Bose described the attack on NIA officers as a “very serious” issue.
He told mediapersons, “This is a very serious situation which has to be dealt with all the seriousness that it deserves. This kind of ‘goondaism’ should not be allowed. Muscle power should not replace legal power. This has to be dealt with an iron hand.”