On Friday, 4th August 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a Trinamool Congress worker named Islam Chowdhury in connection with the case involving the illegal consignment of explosive materials. According to the probe agency, Islam Chowdhury played a crucial role as a key conspirator and facilitator in the supply of explosives in the 2022 incident.
Islam Chowdhury was arrested after the NIA conducted a raid in West Bengal’s Birbhum district. The raid was based on information obtained from another arrested TMC leader, Manoj Ghosh. Manoj Ghosh had won during the recently-concluded panchayat elections in the state. Ghosh was arrested by the NIA for possessing illegal explosive materials and firearms in his godown.
According to a spokesperson of the NIA, during the raid in Birbhum, the agency seized Rs 1.50 lakh in cash, bank transaction documents, paper slips with mobile numbers, SIM cards, three mobile phones, and incriminating documents. In a statement, the NIA revealed that the arrest of Islam Chowdhary was a result of the interrogation of two other accused individuals, Merajuddin Ali Khan and Mir Md Nuruzzaman. They had been nabbed earlier by the NIA.
According to the NIA, its investigations have unveiled the significant involvement of Islam Chowdhary as a conspirator and facilitator in the supply of explosives in the case. The agency registered the case in September 2022, after the seizure of a substantial cache of electric detonators and explosives.
In the Md Bazar Police Station area of Birbhum, a team of the Special Task Force (STF), West Bengal, conducted a raid and initially seized around 81,000 electric detonators from a vehicle, leading to the arrest of the driver, Ashish Keora. Following this operation, subsequent searches were carried out, uncovering an additional 2,525 electric detonators, 27,000 kg of ammonium nitrate, and 1,625 kg of gelatin sticks. Among the findings were also one pistol with a magazine and 4 live rounds of ammunition, 16.25 kg of gelatin sticks (totalling 130), and a bag containing 50 kg of ammonium nitrate from illegal godowns. As a result of these searches, law enforcement apprehended additional suspects. The NIA continues its ongoing investigation into the case.
