The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has apprehended 11 additional suspects in connection with the conspiracy surrounding the communal unrest during Ram Navami festivities in West Bengal last March, as announced by the agency. These arrests have occurred within a month of the NIA’s detention of 16 individuals in the six cases, which were handed over to the NIA on April 27 of the previous year.
These 11 suspects were also implicated in scheming and carrying out assaults against members of a specific community, incited by an incident during a Ram Navami procession in Shibpur, under the Howrah Police Commissionerate, on March 30 of the preceding year. Throughout its probe, the NIA pinpointed the suspects from video footage obtained from various sites. “Further investigations by the NIA led to significant revelations, resulting in these arrests, alongside the detention of 16 individuals on February 26 of this year,” stated the agency.
The 11 apprehended suspects have been identified as Shamim Ahmed alias Bare, Balwant Singh, Mehmud Alam, Mehfooz Alam alias Sonu, Shamshad Alam alias Danish, Mohammad Ali alias Suraj, Salim Jawed alias Jawad, Sarfaraz Alam alias Lalan, Firoj Khan, Md. Sameer Ansari alias Raj, and Shamshad Hussain alias Shamshad Ali alias Raja. All of them hail from Shibpur, Howrah.
The case was initially filed by the West Bengal Police against 36 individuals following the communal turmoil instigated by an attack at 4th By Lane, PM Basti, Shibpur, Howrah. The Calcutta High Court, on April 27 of the previous year, directed the transfer of all cases linked to the series of communal disturbances during the Ram Navami celebrations to the NIA.
