NIA chargesheets 31 in Malda SIR obstruction cases

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday said that a total of 31 accused have been named in chargesheets filed in four separate cases in the road blockades and illegal detention of judicial officers as part of the special intensive revision (SIR) in Malda.

The chargesheets have been filed before the NIA Special Court, Kolkata, based on various digital/technical, documentary and oral evidence, and examination of several witnesses to the incidents that rocked the region ahead of the assembly polls in April.

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The accused have been charged under respective relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, National Highways Act, 1956, and West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (WBMPO) Act, 1972.

Specific roles played by each accused have been detailed in the chargesheets, which establishes their involvement in the road blockades and illegal detention/restraint of judicial officers engaged in the SIR at various locations in Malda district.

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NIA, which had taken over the investigation in the cases following the Supreme Court taking cognizance suo motu and its directive, found that the accused had, in a coordinated manner, participated in unlawful assemblies, blocked public roads, obstructed the movement of government officials, and wrongfully restrained judicial officers engaged in the SIR exercise.

The accused had also disrupted the law and order in the region through their unlawful activities, it has been clearly established by NIA in its chargesheets.