This Article is From Jan 28, 2015

National Investigation Agency Arrests 4 over Alleged Links to Burdwan Blast

National Investigation Agency Arrests 4 over Alleged Links to Burdwan Blast

The house in West Bengal's Burdwan district where a blast occurred on October 2 last year.

Kolkata: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested four persons in the last 24 hours for their alleged connection to the Burdwan blast case. According to sources, one of the four allegedly worked as a 'recruiter' for a network of bomb makers; two of those killed in the accidental blast at Khagragarh on October 2 last year were allegedly members of this network. All four of the arrested persons have been remanded to the NIA's custody till February 3.

The four were arrested from West Bengal's Birbhum, Murshidabad and Nadia districts and they will be produced in a Kolkata court today.

The NIA had earlier announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for Habibur Sheikh, one of those arrested.

Sheikh, who is from Birbhum district, was allegedly one of the people who sheltered the Bangladeshi nationals involved in the case and reportedly also arranged false documents for them.

Dalim Sheikh, a resident of Birbhum district, allegedly worked as a recruiter for the group. He and Gyasuddin, also arrested today, allegedly sheltered Bangladeshi nationals and arranged false documents for them.

Details on Motiur Rehaman, the fourth person arrested today, are awaited.

The four arrests come just over two weeks after the NIA arrested Rejaul Karim on January 3. Rejaul Karim had a reward of Rs 3 lakh award on his head.

The NIA had reportedly recovered 39 improvised explosive devices of IEDs from the house where Karim use to live.

The West Bengal police had initially claimed that the blast on October 2 was triggered by the explosion of a gas cylinder. The state government had objected vociferously when the case had been handed over to the NIA.

The NIA had reportedly found 39 explosives at an alleged suspect's house, which had been sealed by the West Bengal police just days before. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had suggested that the Burdwan blast episode may be the handiwork of the Centre, through the agency Research and Analysis Wing or RAW.
.