Who is the key accused arrested in the 2021 Bengal post-poll murder case?
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Kolkata, Feb 12 (NationPress) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) made a significant breakthrough on Thursday by capturing a proclaimed offender who had been evading law enforcement since 2021. This arrest is part of an ongoing investigation into violent incidents following the West Bengal Assembly elections that year.
The individual apprehended has been identified as Nazir Hossen. The CBI reported that he was located at his father-in-law's residence in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
This investigation into post-poll violence was initiated by the CBI after a directive from the Calcutta High Court in 2021. In one of the cases, it is alleged that Nazir Hossen, in a criminal conspiracy with others, surrounded Hasnur Zaman—a victim of the violence—on May 2, 2021, while armed with firearms, hand bombs, and iron rods.
The agency claims that Zaman was killed by bombs thrown at him, and the motive was rooted in political rivalry and a feud over a clubhouse construction on land owned by a mosque.
Nazir Hossen is one of 13 individuals charged by the CBI under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Explosive Substances Act, and the Indian Explosives Act. The case is currently being heard in a district court in Barasat, North 24 Parganas.
The CBI noted that Hossen had managed to evade capture since the case's inception in 2021. “His arrest was executed based on human intelligence and technical inputs. After being arrested, he was presented before the Barasat lower court and has been placed in judicial custody,” the agency's statement indicated.
Several senior members of the ruling Trinamool Congress, including a prominent legislator, have previously been scrutinized by the CBI concerning various post-poll violence incidents in West Bengal. Some convictions have been achieved in these cases over time.
However, leaders from the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have often voiced their concerns regarding what they perceive as the sluggish pace of the investigation by the central agency.