- By Mayukh Debnath
- Sat, 27 Apr 2024 08:17 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Sandeshkhali Arms Seizure: West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed there was "no evidence" of any weapons being recovered from Sandeshkhali, expressing scepticism over the arms seizure made by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) teams a day earlier in the state's North 24 Parganas district. She also asserted that the CBI carried out searches without informing the local police. Notably, the CBI raided multiple locations in North 24 Parganas on Friday in connection with its probe into the January 5 attack on ED officials by an unruly mob in Sandeshkhali.
According to the CBI, a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including foreign-made pistols and revolvers, was recovered during raids at two premises of an aide of now-suspended TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan. As per a report by ANI, several incriminating documents linked to Shahjahan, who is the main accused in the case and was arrested on February 29, were also recovered. The CBI was assisted by teams of the bomb detection squad, the National Security Guard (NSG), the central armed police forces (CAPFs) and the West Bengal Police in conducting the searches.
"If a firecracker goes off in Bengal, the NIA, CBI, NSG are coming to investigate. It seems that a war is going on. The state police were not informed. It is not known what was found. There was no evidence. The seized items might have been brought by them (CBI) in a car," Banerjee said while addressing a rally in West Bengal's Ushagram, news agency PTI reported. The remarks came just hours after the TMC lodged a complaint with the Election Commission wherein the party pointed at the possibility of the raid being "a ploy employed by the BJP in conspiracy with the CBI and the NSG to plant weapons".
In its complaint with the poll body, the TMC alleged that despite repeated representations, the state poll panel chief failed to stop central probe agencies from "throttling the campaign efforts" of various political parties. "While elections were going on, the CBI deliberately carried out an unscrupulous raid at an empty location in Sandeshkhali. Media reports suggest that the CBI called in additional forces, including the bomb squad of the National Security Guard (NSG). It has also been reported that arms and ammunition were recovered from a house during such a raid," the TMC stated in its complaint.
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"Today, I heard there was an incident near Sandeshkhali. A BJP leader had stored bombs in his house. They think that they can win the elections by cancelling (school) jobs and with bombs. We want 'roti, kapda, makaan' and jobs for the people, not their lofty speeches," Banerjee said further. The TMC on Saturday alleged that several people sustained injuries after an explosive went off at the house of a relative of a BJP leader in Basirhat assembly constituency amid the ongoing Lok Sabha election.
(With inputs from agencies)
