NEW DELHI: A team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials was attacked by villagers in the
Bhupatinagar
area of West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district on Saturday. The officials went there to investigate a 2022 bomb
blast case
, according to police reports.
A team of NIA officials earlier this morning arrested two persons in connection with the case and were on their way back to Kolkata, when the vehicle came under attack, the police said.
Villagers surrounded their vehicle and began pelting stones, leading to injuries among the officials, including one officer from the NIA, as confirmed by a senior police official. "Locals gheraoed the vehicle and pelted stones at it. The NIA has said one of its officers was also injured," a senior police official was quoted by PTI as saying.
Taking swift action, NIA has lodged a police complaint concerning the attack.
Following the incident, a significant deployment of central police forces has been dispatched to Bhupatinagar, where the
NIA team
is currently stationed alongside the arrested people.
The case being investigated dates back to December 3, 2022, when a devastating explosion claimed three lives in a kutcha house in Bhupatinagar. Subsequently, the NIA assumed control of the investigation.
This latest incident evokes memories of a similar attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials during a raid related to a ration scam in the
Sandeshkhali
area of North 24 Parganas on January 5.
(With inputs from agencies)
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