Kolkata, June 20 (IANS) After remaining absconding for around three days since being identified as the mastermind behind the attempted storming of Falta Police Station in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal last Tuesday by some local Trinamool Congress workers, Regina Bibi, the wife of party leader Jahangir Khan was arrested by the police on Saturday morning.

Regina Bibi, whose husband Jahangir Khan is already under arrest, was booked under various Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Arms Act, 1959 and the Explosives Act, 1884. She will be presented at a district court in South 24 Paragans later in the day.

An insider from the state police said that Regina Bibi, who was absconding ever since the state police and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel foiled attempts by Trinamool Congress activists to storm the Falta Police Station and rescue Jahangir Khan, was arrested on Saturday morning from a hideout near the Indo-Nepal border.

With the arrest of Regina Bibi, the total number of arrests in the case has risen to 26.

Preliminary investigation by the police revealed that the planning for the attack on the Falta Police Station was done at a meeting held at a secret location on Monday, which was convened by Regina Bibi.

“It was decided in that meeting that supporters would gather at a specific location, about three kilometres from Falta Police Station. The plan was to suddenly storm the police station in an organised manner from there and rescue Jahangir Khan,” said a district police officer.

Khan, the party’s candidate from Falta in the recently-concluded Assembly elections, was once considered a “terror and the final word” in the area.

On Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari told media persons he had directed the administration to identify the properties of those involved in the attack on the police station, confiscate them, auction them and recover the cost of the damage caused to public property from the auctions.

“Cases in connection with the Falta incident have been registered against the attackers under various Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including provisions related to anti-state activities. We will not only ensure exemplary punishment for the attackers, but compensation for the damage will also be recovered by confiscating their properties,” CM Adhikari had said on Friday.

–IANS

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