NIA grills Bengal residents with suspected Maoist links during day-long raid | Kolkata
Kolkata: National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials from Jharkhand searched at least a dozen homes in Kolkata and south Bengal districts on Tuesday in connection with an investigation into Maoist operations, local police officials said.
The raids were held in Kolkata, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Nadia and West Burdwan districts.
“Officials from NIA’s Ranchi office conducted the day-long operation. They did not arrest anyone but seized a large quantity of documents, mobile phones and laptops from the homes of several Bengal citizens with suspected Maoist links. Two persons, a man and a woman, were served notice and summoned to the Ranchi office for questioning,” a state police official said on condition of anonymity.
No NIA official commented on the raids.
Some of those under scanner told the media that the NIA officials inquired about the whereabouts of Nirmala Biswas, an alleged Maoist operative from Bengal for whose arrest the agency has announced a reward.
Sipra Chakraborty, who was summoned to Ranchi, said the NIA searched her home at Panihati in North 24 Parganas.
“They asked about my association with Adhikar, a civil rights group. They said they are probing some leads found during the arrest of Maoist leader Prasanta Bose (alias Kishan Da) in 2021. They have made me a suspect. I have been summoned to Ranchi,” Chakraborty said.
The NIA officials raided the home of Prasenjit Chakraborty, a freelance journalist, at Behala in Kolkata, and Sudipta Pal, publisher of a civil rights magazine, at Asansol in West Burdwan district.
“They seized my mobile phone and the hard disc of my computer. How can I work without my hard disc. The charges are baseless,” Pal told the local media.
The home of Basu Naskar, a senior citizen, was raided at Thakurpukur on the southern outskirts of Kolkata.
“The NIA seized all five mobile phones used by my family. I don’t know what I have done,” Naskar said.
At Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district, the home of Gour Majumdar, a salesman, was searched for three hours.
“The NIA seized a lot of documents and questioned Majumdar regarding the whereabouts of Sanjay Mondal, a local resident with suspected Maoist links,” a local police officer said.
In Howrah district, the NIA questioned the parents of Siddhasatya Roy, a college student who left his home in the Chatterjee Hat area three years ago.
At Chakdah in Nadia district, the NIA officials picked up Siddheswar Biswas, a local resident, from his home and questioned him at the local police station.
“Biswas has been summoned to Ranchi,” a police officer said.
