Kolkata, February 12 (NationPress) - A special court belonging to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has ordered the judicial custody of 36 individuals who were arrested due to their involvement in the recent unrest in Beldanga, located in the minority-majority district of Murshidabad, West Bengal, until February 19.

Out of the 36 individuals, 31 appeared before the NIA court through a virtual platform as NIA officials could not present them in person, attributing this to the Murshidabad district police's failure to provide adequate security escorts.

Among the accused, five are minors and were not presented in the virtual session. At the end of the proceedings, the court placed all 36 individuals in judicial custody until February 19.

The next hearing is scheduled for February 17.

During the hearing on Thursday, the representative for the West Bengal government asserted that the NIA's involvement has been excessively proactive due to the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, which are set to occur later this year.

This marks the second instance where the NIA could not physically present the accused in court, citing security issues with the Murshidabad district police.

Previously, on February 5, the NIA team similarly failed to deliver the accused to court for the same reason, as the state police lacked sufficient personnel for escort duties.

It has been reported that although the NIA made a request to the Murshidabad district police for assistance, the police declined, stating that their personnel were occupied with duties related to the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education's Higher Secondary examinations, which started on Thursday.

The NIA assumed control of the investigation into the Beldanga violence based on a directive from the Calcutta High Court, which permitted the Union Home Ministry to engage the central agency for the probe. The unrest reportedly erupted over misinformation concerning the murder of a migrant worker from Murshidabad in Jharkhand.

Subsequently, the Jharkhand Police clarified that the migrant worker had died by suicide, referencing the post-mortem results to back their assertion and labeling earlier murder claims as false.

While the West Bengal government contested the Calcutta High Court's decision in the Supreme Court, a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court dismissed the state's appeal on February 11, and instructed the NIA to prepare a status report for the Calcutta High Court in a sealed cover. This report is to assess whether a prima facie case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) has emerged based on the evidence collected during the investigation.