Kolkata, June 5 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested a Trinamool Congress Zilla Parishad office-bearer in East Midnapore district of West Bengal, which is the native district of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

The arrested person has been identified as Samsul Islam, the Trinamool Congress office-bearer (health unit) of East Midnapore Zilla Parishad.

He has been arrested in connection with rioting along with his associates during elections for the office-bearer posts of the cooperative bank in the district.

During officer-bearers’ elections for Tamluk-Ghatal Card Bank recently, crude bombs were hurled in front of the polling station of Didaruddin High School at Nandigram in the district.

Several workers and local leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were severely injured in the rioting. Massive tension had broken out in the entire locality following the violence.

Considering the seriousness of the matter, the NIA sleuths were given charge of the investigation in the matter. The role of the Zilla Parishad office-bearer behind that rioting was under the scanner of the investigating officials of the central agency for quite some time.

He was absconding after the NIA took charge of the investigation. Finally, sources aware of the development said, on receipt of specific information, the central agency sleuths started massive raid and search operations in a particular area in East Midnapore district. He was tracked and arrested early Friday morning.

He will be presented in a district court in Haldia in the same district later in the day, and counsel for the central investigating agency will seek NIA custody for him, sources said.

It is learnt that the NIA sleuths are trying to track some other associates of the arrested Trinamool Congress leader, who were also engaged in that rioting and are also absconding.

The investigating officials said that their whereabouts could be tracked by interrogating the arrested Trinamool Congress leader.

Expressing relief over the arrest of Islam, the local people have claimed that he terrorised people living in the area and was involved in all sorts of nefarious activities, including rioting, issuing threats, extortion and rampant corruption in defalcating funds allotted to East Midnapore Zilla Parishad.

–IANS

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