West Bengal Government Faces NIA Probe and CID Raids Over Beldanga Violence and Trinamool Offices

The Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal government, now led by BJP Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, to clarify its stance on the National Investigation Agency's probe into the January violence in Beldanga, Murshidabad district. The unrest followed the death of a migrant worker and involved allegations of communal and linguistic tensions, railway and road blockades, and attacks on journalists. The state counsel said it was not opposed in principle to the probe but required more time to decide whether provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act would apply. The court ordered the government to submit its opinion by the following week.

Separately, West Bengal's Criminal Investigation Department conducted parallel raids on two Trinamool Congress offices in Kolkata: one adjacent to former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat and another on Camac Street used by party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. Initial resistance from staff was overcome after police reinforcement. Banerjee had been summoned for questioning in a case concerning alleged signature mismatches in a legislative resolution. Both Banerjee and Mamata Banerjee were in New Delhi attending a meeting of the opposition INDIA bloc.