Arjun house attack: Was Centre intimated, HC asks state
Times of India | 30 October 2024
Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed Bengal govt to submit a report whether it had intimated Centre about the multiple gunshots fired at former BJP MP Arjun Singh's house in Bhatpara on Oct 4.
Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) instructed the state to submit the report before the next hearing of the case as mandated under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act. The state, under Section 6 of the act, must forward the report of any "scheduled offence" as received from the respective officer-in-charge to Centre.
On Oct 4, miscreants allegedly fired multiple gunshots and attacked the house of the Barrackpore BJP functionary at Meghna More with stones and bombs, spreading tension in the area.
Singh's counsel pleaded for an NIA investigation, calling the incident a "scheduled offence". The counsel said the state had initiated a case under the Explosives Act instead of the Explosive Substances Act.
Calling the incident a "scheduled offence", counsel for the Union of India submitted that the state needed to make a reference to Centre on the incident under provisions of the NIA Act.
Justice Paul also instructed the state to preserve CCTV footage of the area on the day of the incident.