Bengal Congress Slams ‘Attack’ On NIA Officials By Mamata ‘Govt-Backed Goons’, Says ‘Can’t Justify’ Act

New Delhi: Launching into a tirade against West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury condemned the attack on NIA officials and pinned the blame on the state government.

Earlier in the day, the probe agency arrested two key conspirators in a 2022 blast case amid an attack on their officials by a crowd in Purba Medinipur district.

Condemning the attack, Adhir claimed while it is true that the probe agencies, including ED, CBI and NIA are being “misused” by the Centre to hound and harass the Opposition leaders, the incident that took place in Bengal was unacceptable. He further said that the Opposition can approach the judiciary in case of any grievance, but should not take law in their hands.

Addressing the media, Adhir said, “We condemn the attack on ED, CBI, and NIA in Bengal by the government-supported goons. Whether NIA and CBI are right or not, is a different issue. It is true that these agencies are being misused, and I.N.D.I.A alliance has been raising its voice against it. But I cannot justify these attacks on the central agencies. We have the judiciary, which can be approached in case of any grievance.”   

#WATCH | Murshidabad, West Bengal: On the attack on NIA in Purba Medinipur, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, “We condemn the attack on ED, CBI, and NIA in Bengal by government-supported goons. Whether NIA and CBI are right or not, is a different issue, but the way these… pic.twitter.com/U2ueAR6yCn

— ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2024

Meanwhile, CM Banerjee accused the NIA officials of attacking the villagers in Bhupatinagar in Purba Medinipur district and not the other way round.

She claimed that the officials barged into several houses in the early hours over an incident of “bursting of crackers in 2022”, and defended the villagers’ response as an act of self-defence.

“The attack was not perpetrated by the women of Bhupatinagar, but rather by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) team,” Mamata Banerjee said at an election rally in Dakshin Dinajpur district’s Balurghat.

“Will the women sit back if they (NIA) go to their houses at night? Won’t they try to defend themselves?” she asked.