12 charge sheeted by NIA in attack on BJP leader in West Bengal

Kolkata, Nov 26 The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday said that as many as 12 persons have been named in its charge sheet in the case relating to the attack BJP leader Priyangu Pandey's convoy at Bhatpara in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district in August.

The charge sheet has been filed at a special NIA court, where the 12 accused persons have been charged under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Arms Act, and the Explosives Substances Act.

The accused have been identified as Md Abed Khan aka Banty, Md Arif, Wasimuddin Ansari aka Bhuma, Md Nasim, Firdush Iqbal, Md Tanveer, Sanjay Shaw, Md Chand, Aakash Singh, Md Sohaib Aktar, Md Akbar, and Sagar Singh.

According to a statement issued by the NIA, investigations by the central agency have revealed that all these 12 accused individuals were actively involved in the conspiracy related to the assault on the entourage of Pandey. "His driver, Ravi Verma, and close aide Rabi Singh had received gunshot injuries in the attack," it said.

The attack, as per the statement, took place while Pandey and his team were near Gate No 3, of the Anglo Indian Jute Mill staff quarters at Bhatpara while the convoy was on the way to the residence of the former BJP MP from Barrackpore constituency, Arjun Singh.

As per the NIA statement, the accused attacked the convoy with explosives and firearms. The NIA investigation has exposed a criminal conspiracy behind the attack which has been detailed in the charge sheet.

After the attack, Pandey accused the ruling Trinamool Congress activists of leading the pre-planned attack on him. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs directed transferring the case from West Bengal police to the NIA expressing concerns over public safety since explosives and firearms were used during the attack.

Thereafter, the NIA started the investigation after registering an FIR in the matter.

Source: IANS