Attack on agencies to save corrupt: PM

Says Law & Constitution trampled under Bengal govt Arrested TMC leader’s wife lodges FIR against NIA officers alleging assault

JALPAIGURI/PURULIA (WB): Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged on Sunday that the TMC desires a free license for corruption and violence in West Bengal, which is why central agencies investigating such cases face attacks in the state.

While addressing a mega rally in Jalpaiguri in north Bengal, Modi also claimed that TMC’s syndicate Raj prevails in West Bengal, and the party is only interested in protecting its corrupt leaders.

“The TMC government seeks to have a free pass for loot and terror in Bengal. To shield its extortionist and corrupt leaders, the TMC orchestrates attacks on central investigative agencies when they come here,” he said.

Modi’s comments come a day after an NIA team was allegedly attacked by a mob on

Saturday when attempting to arrest two main suspects in a 2022 blast case in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district. The Saturday attack on NIA stirred up memories of January 5 when a team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was attacked by a mob in North 24 Parganas district’s Sandeshkhali during a search at the house of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, who was later suspended, in connection with alleged irregularities in the public distribution system.

Urging the gathering at Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri district to “teach the TMC a lesson in these elections” so that “deposits of its candidates get forfeited”, Modi called the attacks on agencies a reflection of how “law and Constitution are getting trampled” under the watch of the Bengal government. He mentioned that the situation in the state is such that “the court has to intervene” in various matters. Up north, the Prime Minister accused the TMC government of impeding the implementation of the Centre’s welfare schemes in the state.

Stating that the Centre had disbursed Rs 30,000 crore to the Bengal under the PM rural housing scheme, Modi said, “We wanted the money to be sent directly to beneficiaries. But the TMC wants the central funds in their account first. How can I allow them to loot people’s

money?”

KOLKATA: Wife of arrested TMC leader Monobrata Jana has filed an FIR against NIA officials alleging that they tried to outrage her modesty after forcibly entering her residence in Bhupatinagar in the pretext of conducting a probe, a police officer said on Sunday. The National Investigation Agency on Saturday arrested two key conspirators - Balai Charan Maity and Manobrata Jana - in a 2022 blast case in West Bengal’s Purba Medinpur district in which three persons were killed. Jana’s wife Moni Jana lodged her complaint with Bhupatinagar police station alleging that NIA officers also vandalised properties in her residence during their raid, he said.