NIA arrests one more accused in 2022 Bhupatinagar blast case

New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested another accused in the 2022 Bhupatinagar bomb blast in Bengal that claimed three lives. The accused was identified as Pachanan Ghorai, a resident of Bhupatinagar Nagar of district Purba Medinipur of West Bengal, a statement by the central investigative agency said on Sunday. A non-bailable warrant was issued against the accused and the NIA arrested him on Friday. “In the high-intensity blast, house owner Raj Kumar Manna died on the spot while Buddhadeb Manna @ Lalu and Biswajit Gayen, were seriously injured and later succumbed,” it added. The NIA probe revealed that the incident was a result of a criminal conspiracy relating to the supply of explosives for making bombs to spread terror and violence in the region. Sources said that in the chargesheet, the NIA mentioned explosives were deliberately stocked in that area with the motive of creating terror in the region. The NIA also claimed that the explosive items were stocked to manufacture crude bombs. On January 4, the NIA submitted a chargesheet at a special court here in connection with the case. To recall, the NIA sleuths and Central Armed Police Personnel (CAPF) were attacked by local Trinamool Congress (TMC) activists in April this year while they were returning to Kolkata after arresting two local TMC leaders namely Manobrata Jana and Balai Charan Maity. The windscreen of the vehicle of NIA was also smashed. One NIA officer was also injured in the attack. On December 13, last year, the NIA raided the residence of the TMC leader. After the blast in December 2022, the West Bengal Police began an investigation into the matter. Later, the NIA was handed the probe following an order by the Calcutta High Court. The investigation was underway. –IANS svn/sd