The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested former Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Saokat Molla from the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal in connection with the blast at Bhangar near Kolkata earlier this year that killed one person, said an official on Friday. The development comes hours after the probe agency declared him as 'absconding'.
This is the fourth arrest made by the agency in this case. Molla, a former legislator from the Canning Purba assembly constituency, was taken to the NIA's office for questioning and he will be produced before a court on Saturday.
"We have arrested Saokat Molla as part of the ongoing investigation into the Bhangar bomb blast case. He will be produced before a court tomorrow, and further legal proceedings will follow," an NIA official told news agency PTI on Friday night.
Molla's family says he 'surrendered'
However, Molla's family members said the former TMC leader was detained by the agency from Kolkata's Chingrighata area after he surrendered. Denying the NIA's claim, they said Molla was not present in Kamalgazi and was at a hotel.
"My father was not at home. He had gone out for personal work. He surrendered to the authorities. We (our family members and my father) were at a hotel near Chingrighata and not anywhere near Kamalgazi," PTI quoted his daughter as saying.
Notably, Molla's arrest came just hours after he was declared 'absconding' by NIA, which also shared his details with the Border Security Force (BSF) amid fears that he might try to cross the international border (IB). Besides, the agency also carried out multiple raids at places linked to him in Moukhali, Baruipur and Sonarpur on Thursday.
What the Bhangar blast case is all about?
An explosion had happened at the Dakshin Bamunia village in Bhangar, which is in South 24 Parganas district on March 19, just days before the polling for assembly elections in West Bengal. It left one person dead, while three others were severely wounded.
Reportedly, the blast happened while the accused were allegedly making bombs. The incident once again highlighted the issue of crude bombs in West Bengal, which is a recurring problem in the state. And because of the timing of assembly elections, the case was transferred to the NIA.
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