The National Investigation Agency (NIA) apprehended Shakir Ali, a Trinamool Congress councillor and spouse of former party MP Aparupa Poddar, for his involvement in a disturbance during a Ram Navami procession in 2023. The incident took place in Rishra, Hooghly district, leading to the NIA taking over the case.
Shakir Ali, who serves as the Trinamool councillor for Ward No. 4 in Rishra Municipality, was arrested at his residence in Rishra by NIA officials supported by CRPF personnel. Allegations from the BJP suggested that the violence during the procession was instigated by Councillor Shakir Ali.
In a separate event, the Serampore police detained Sudarshan Bar, a prominent member of the Piyarapur Gram Panchayat and a close aide of Serampore Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee. Bar faces accusations of various offenses, including assaulting party members, land seizure, corruption within the panchayat, and extortion linked to factory construction along National Highway 19. He is scheduled to appear before the Serampore court later today.
