Kolkata, Feb 20 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday approached the Calcutta High Court seeking its intervention in directing the West Bengal Police to submit the case diary of last month’s violence at Beldanga in minority-dominated Murshidabad district to the central agency officials probing the matter.

In its petition, the NIA counsel had argued that the state police was refusing to hand over the case diary in the matter despite the Supreme Court’s Division Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi last month, refusing to entertain the plea of the state government opposing the NIA probe in the matter.

The Calcutta High Court had admitted the petition, and the matter is likely to come up for hearing on February 24.

To recall, violence broke out at Beldanga last month over a rumour of the murder of a local migrant worker from the area in neighbouring Jharkhand, which the Jharkhand Police totally dismissed and termed the death of the migrant worker as suicide.

Thereafter, the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly filed a petition at the Calcutta High Court seeking an NIA probe into the matter.

After the Calcutta High Court gave freedom to the Union Home Ministry to take a decision in the matter, the ministry gave a go-ahead to the NIA, and central agency officials started the investigation.

Meanwhile, the state government moved the apex court seeking a stay on the NIA probe in the matter. But the apex court’s Division Bench refused to entertain the state government’s plea and interfere in the matter.

After that clear order from the apex court, although the NIA sleuths carried on with the investigation in the matter, they failed to get the case diary from the state police.

The NIA officials also did not get the necessary support from the Murshidabad District Police for police escorts to take the arrested accused persons to the special NIA court.

So finally, on Friday, the NIA had approached the Calcutta High Court seeking the latter’s intervention in the matter.

–IANS

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