Kolkata, 19 February (H.S.):

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday informed the court that it wants to bring the accused in the Beldanga violence case to Kolkata under its own escort, alleging a lack of cooperation from the state police.

The NIA told the court that the investigation is not progressing and it needs to file a status report with the High Court. It is necessary to take the accused into its custody in the interest of the investigation. The agency also alleged that it is not receiving the required cooperation from the district police and is therefore willing to bring the accused to Kolkata from the Baharampur court under the escort of central forces.

The state police informed the court that due to numerous law and order responsibilities in the district, sufficient police personnel are not available for escort. Consequently, the accused could not be produced in court on time.

It is noteworthy that Thursday marked the third time the accused in the Beldanga case were ordered to appear in court, but like the previous two hearings, they were not produced. Previously, the NIA had accused the state police of non-cooperation, following which the court had clearly directed that the accused be produced and escorted.

NIA lawyer Shyamal Ghosh argued in court that the Superintendent of Police had already been informed of the court's instructions and the case records had been requested, but the district police had not provided any information. He stated that the agency had solid evidence to detain the seven accused and that, if the court ordered, the NIA would go to the jail and bring the accused.

Notably, violence in Beldanga erupted following the death of Alauddin Sheikh, a migrant laborer from Murshidabad, Jharkhand. Tension spread in the area as soon as the body arrived in the village on January 16. During the protests, the national highway was blocked, tires were burned, and the Sealdah-Lalgola train service was disrupted. An attack on a female journalist was also reported.

The High Court had previously ruled that the NIA could investigate the case if the central government so desired. Following this, the Home Ministry handed over the investigation of the Beldanga violence to the NIA.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey