The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday began its probe into the violence that erupted in Beldanga in Murshidabad, following the death of a migrant worker in Jharkhand earlier this month, an officer said.
An eight member NIA team reached Beldanga police station as well as the office of the Superintendent of Police, Murshidabad, in the morning and spoke with the officials earlier involved in the probe, and sought documents from them.
According to sources, the NIA team also spoke with the cyber department and had visited the Berhampore court, where the accused were produced. The agency has notified the court of its plan to seek custody of the arrested individuals.
The focus of the investigation is to determine whether the violence was the result of any organised conspiracy, the spread of fake or misleading information, or deliberate provocation to stoke communal passion, an NIA official said.
The NIA team visited the national highway incident site, where the incident had occurred, attempting to create a sketch map of Baruamore in Beldanga, and spoke with locals.
Tension flared up in Beldanga and adjoining areas on January 16 after news spread that a migrant worker from the area had died an unnatural death at his shelter in Jharkhand. The situation remained volatile for nearly two days as the news of another assault of a migrant worker in Bihar hailing from the region came, with incidents of unrest reported across the area. Protesters blocked National Highway-12 and railway tracks at Beldanga, affecting rail and road traffic.
A total of 35 people had been arrested. On January 20, the Calcutta High Court expressed concern over the recent violence in Beldanga and the recurring violence in the Murshidabad district.
Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen directed the state to deploy central forces to prevent further incidents and consider intelligence inputs. They had noted: “According to the NIA Act, it is open for the Central Govt to order for NIA investigation.”
Against this backdrop, the Centre decided to hand over the investigation to the NIA.
Following the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the central agency had registered a fresh case.
According to sources, the following sections have been charged in this case: UAPA sections 16(1) and 16(2), dealing with terrorist acts and assisting unlawful activities, respectively. Other charges are under the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Act (public safety and preventing subversive activities), National Highway 8B Act (causing mischief on national highways), and various BNS sections.