Kolkata, Mar 15: National Investigation Agency ( NIA ) has filed a fresh charge sheet against the 15th accused in West Bengal's Ekbalpore Communal violence case that pertains to clashes between two communities on Oct 9 last year.
The agency named Md Zeeshan Akbar, a resident of Kolkata's Khiddirpore, in the supplementary charge sheet filed before a special NIA court in Kolkata on Tuesday (Mar 14). The agency in January this year had filed a charge sheet against 14 accused persons in the case, which pertains to the clash between members of two communities who engaged in brick-batting, stone-pelting and hurled bombs at each other.
It was found during the investigation that Akbar, alongwith other co-accused, had hatched a criminal conspiracy and had mobilized an 'unlawful assembly' with the intention to attack dwelling houses and shops of the Hindu community at Gali No. 8, Bhukailash Road, Mominpur, Kolkata by using crude bombs, petrol bombs, wooden sticks, brickbats and stones, said the NIA. "The mob also disrupted the electricity supply in the area and prevented the Police Personnel from entering Gali No. 8, Bhukailash Road, Kolkata to control the riots. The mob also assaulted Police Personnel causing injuries to one of the police personnel," said the agency.
The member of the two communities also deterred police personnel from discharging their official duties by physically assaulting them, damaging vehicles parked nearby and also attacked police personnel in the jurisdiction of Ekbalpore Police Station, Kolkata. The case was initially registered on October 10 last year at Ekbalpur Police Station in, Kolkata, West Bengal and re-registered by the NIA on October 18 last year. Those earlier named in the charge sheet included Md Fakruddin Siddique, Md Salauddin Siddique, Md Sahabuddin Siddique, Md Idul Siddique, Md Ziauddin, Badrul Hossain, Ohab Hossain, Mustafa Hussain, Zakir Hossain, Gholam Md Izhar, Md Faiyaz, Sunny, Raju and Imamul Haque.
All the 15 accused persons have been chargesheeted under sections 120B, 147, 149, 152, 332, 353 and 436 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. The NIA's first charge sheet was filed three days after it carried out searches at 17 locations in Kolkata in connection with the case and seized Rs 33.87 lakh in cash from the residence of three absconding accused. The NIA sleuths conducted searches at these locations in Bhukailash Road in the Mominpur area of Kolkata.
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