After a prolonged dispute, the West Bengal Police has agreed to hand over the case diary related to the recent Beldanga violence in Murshidabad district to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). This decision came after approvals from the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court. The state police informed a Kolkata trial court about their intention to transfer the case diary to the NIA, leading to seven accused being remanded to NIA custody for seven days, while the remaining 24 will stay in judicial custody.
During a court session on Friday, the state police were directed to transfer the case diary to the NIA, and they offered to do so immediately within the courtroom. However, the NIA’s counsel requested following the formal protocol, requiring the handover to take place at the NIA office in Kolkata. Eventually, the state police agreed to adhere to this procedure.
The Beldanga violence erupted in January due to false information circulating about the death of a migrant worker from the area in Jharkhand, which was later confirmed by Jharkhand Police as a suicide based on the post-mortem report. Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, had approached the Calcutta High Court to request an NIA investigation into the incident.
Following the High Court’s approval for the NIA probe, the West Bengal government appealed to the Supreme Court to annul the order for an NIA investigation. Despite the Supreme Court’s decision not to intervene, there was a delay as the state police initially resisted handing over the case diary to the NIA.
