News agency ANI quoted sources as saying that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered a case in the anti-Hindu violence in Mominpur, West Bengal.
According to sources, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has ordered the NIA to investigate the matter.
The move comes after the Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalization (CTCR) Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) directed the agency to file a First Information Report (FIR) and initiate a full investigation considering the gravity of the matter.
The MHA order follows a recent direction of the Calcutta High Court, which, earlier this month, while hearing a writ petition related to the Ekbalpur-Mominpur communal violence, ordered the state police to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) In which experienced police officers were involved. incident investigation.
The petitioners had approached the court alleging that the state police administration remained a mute spectator to the communal violence that took place in Kolkata’s Ekbalpur-Mominpur area on the eve of Lakshmi Puja.
Accordingly, the petitioners prayed for deployment of central paramilitary forces to maintain peace in the aftermath of the violence, and to transfer the investigation of offenses to the NIA alleging the inability of the state police to investigate the matter. . in a fair manner.
The court took note of the preliminary reports filed before it. It was noted that five criminal cases have already been registered over the incident under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and the Arms Act, 1959, which are under investigation. The court also noted that as per the preliminary report, 42 people were arrested, 15 live bombs, 4 crude bombs and several other weapons had already been confiscated and Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was invoked in the area. was done.
The court said that it is for the central government to decide whether a given case can be investigated by the NIA, taking into account the gravity of the offense and other relevant factors, making it not for the court to answer in the first instance. was.
Clashes between two communities in Mominpur, Kolkata led to communal tension and several houses were vandalized and cars destroyed late on October 9 in the Mayurbhanj area.
(with inputs from ANI)
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