NIA nabs TMC leader Mahato in 12-year-old case

LALGARH/KOLKATA: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Trinamool Congress state secretary and former Maoist-backed Lalgarh activist

Chhatradhar Mahato

early on Sunday for allegedly getting armed tribals to hold a trainload of Rajdhani Express passengers and crew hostage at Jhargram in Bengal's West Midnapore 12 years ago.


Mahato's arrest under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act came three days after the Calcutta high court exempted him from custodial interrogation by the NIA in another 2009 case pertaining to the murder of a CPM functionary in Lalgarh. Mahato's lawyer, Kaushik Sinha, questioned the need for an NIA contingent to raid his client's house in Lalgarh in the dead of night.

A day before his arrest, Mahato had told that he was questioned for six hours in Kolkata on Friday before he rushed back to Lalgarh to attend a party meeting. "I am meeting NIA officers (in the murder case) as per court orders," he said.

While temporarily shielding him from custodial interrogation, the high court had directed Mahato to appear before the NIA at its Salt Lake office in Kolkata thrice a week and not leave Bengal till the next hearing on April 16.