Kolkata, June 6: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has achieved a significant breakthrough in the Bhangar bomb blast case in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district. On Friday, the agency arrested former Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Shaukat Molla.
Molla was attempting to flee to neighboring Bangladesh via the coastal areas of South 24 Parganas on Thursday. Local villagers spotted him in the Chunakhal area and pursued him, but he managed to escape at that time.
On Friday, some of Molla’s close associates were presented in a lower court in Kolkata. Meanwhile, state and central security forces intensified surveillance and set up blockades on all routes leading to the coastal border areas of South 24 Parganas.
The NIA team was also closely monitoring the relevant areas. Molla was on his way to surrender at the NIA office in New Town when he was arrested from a hideout in the Baruipur area of South 24 Parganas.
Previously, the NIA had conducted a search operation related to the Bhangar bomb blast case and arrested another accused. The agency apprehended Sainur Molla, the driver of the Scorpio vehicle that transported the victims of the blast.
According to the NIA, with Sainur Molla’s arrest, the total number of arrests in this case has risen to three.
Investigations revealed that the accused and their associates were involved in making improvised explosive devices ahead of the recent West Bengal Assembly elections, during which the blast occurred. Several crucial documents, electronic devices, and digital evidence have also been recovered during the search operation and sent for forensic examination.
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