NIA flies in IG to lead Kaliachak violence probe

Malda/Kolkata: NIA flew its IG Sonia Singh to Kolkata on Friday to lead a 24-member inter-state team probing the April 1 violence in Malda. PH Maheshnarain, DIG of the agency's Kolkata unit, reached Kaliachak the same day to begin ground-level investigation.The NIA team first visited Kaliachak police station to speak with local officers before moving to Mothabari police station, where agency personnel are expected to question those already arrested and record statements from police deployed outside the BDO office on the evening the violence erupted.The EC had handed over the probe to the NIA on Thursday, sharply criticising the state administration and police for their handling of the situation. Speaking to the media after the arrest of alleged key conspirator Mofakkerul Islam, IG (North Bengal) K Jayaraman said: "So far, he is in our custody. But if the NIA needs to question him, we will thoroughly cooperate."NIA is working to determine if the violence was part of a larger, coordinated plot.