NIA arrests local political leader in West Bengal SIR violence case
The Investigation Agency has arrested a "local political leader" in a case linked to violence during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal's
The Investigation Agency has arrested a "local political leader" in a case linked to violence during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal's Malda district, officials said on Thursday. The case relates to alleged mob blockades and the detention of judicial officers during protests in April. The arrested man has been identified as Sayem Chowdhary alias Babu Chowdhary, a political leader from Mothbari in Malda. He was taken into custody by an NIA team after being questioned at the agency's branch office in Kolkata, according to an NIA statement.
Read Full Story With this arrest, the agency has so far taken 30 people into custody in the case. It is investigating more than a dozen cases linked to mob protests and the illegal detention of judicial officers during the SIR exercise ahead of the West Bengal Assembly polls. The NIA said its investigation found that Chowdhary was a key accused in the illegal detention of judicial officers at BDO Office Block-II on April 1, 2026. He was allegedly part of a mob that caused "disruption of law and order" and attacked police personnel on official duty.
The agency said nine police personnel were injured in the attacks. According to the NIA, Chowdhary had delivered a speech in front of the BDO office a day before the incident to instigate people to take part in violent protests. The agency also alleged that he had conspired with other co-accused and actively participated in unlawful assemblies that resorted to violence, intimidation and obstruction during the SIR exercise. The NIA said it is trying to identify and track all those involved in various cases of pre-poll violence in West Bengal as part of its probe into the larger conspiracy behind the incidents.
It began investigating these cases on the directions of the Supreme Court, which had taken suo motu cognisance of the April violence in Malda. Ends
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