The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested 16 persons for conspiring and carrying out a communal attack during a Ram Navami procession in the Dalkhola area of West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district in March last year.
The agency has identified the arrested accused as Afroj Alam, Mohammad Ashraf, Mohammad Imtiaz Alam, Irfan Alam, Kaiser, Mohammad Farid Alam, Mohammad Furkan Alam, Mohammad Pappu, Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Sarjan, Mohammad Nurul Hoda alias “Nanua”, Wasim Arya, Mohammad Salahuddin, Mohammad Jannath Alam, Wasim Akram alias “Vicky”, and Mohammad Tanweer Alam – all residents of Dalkhola.
The NIA on Monday said the arrests were made on the basis of revelations made during the probe and the identification of the accused from video footages of the violence seized during the investigations.
“The incident had taken place on 30th March 2023 during a procession to celebrate Ram Navami in Dalkhola in Uttar Dinajpur district, West Bengal. The accused were among the perpetrators of the attack on members of a particular community participating in the procession,” the agency said.
The state police had initially registered a case against 162 people in the wake of the communal violence triggered by the attack at Tajamul Chawk, Uttar Dalkhola.
Subsequently, the Calcutta High Court, on April 27 last year, ordered the transfer of cases related to communal violence during Ram Navami celebrations to the NIA. Accordingly, the NIA took up investigation of Dalkhola and five other cases.
