The investigating agencies in Bangladesh and India are yet to get any evidence to connect any member of the ruling party in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC), with the blast in Bardhaman. However, they are “more or less” sure that the bombs made in Bardhaman were headed for “Bangladesh border” from central Bengal, the chief of a team of visiting Bangladeshi intelligence officers, Monirul Islam told The Hindu here on Sunday. The team had several sessions of discussions with officers of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The seven-member team came here on Thursday and met NIA officials several times over the last three days. The team had members from various agencies of Bangladesh, including intelligence service of armed forces, the Directorate-General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the Crime Investigation Department (CID), the Dhaka police and other investigating and counter-terrorism wings of State security.
The NIA did not tell Bangladesh about any connection between the members of the ruling party in West Bengal and the Bardhaman blast, said Mr. Islam, Joint Commissioner with the Detective and Intelligence Division of Dhaka Metropolitan police. Asked about the allegations in the media about the involvement of parliamentarians and senior leaders of the Trinamool Congress in the blast, Mr. Islam said the “media reports are far from reality.”
There was no evidence to suggest that the conspirators were planning to target the Bangladesh Prime Minister or the Leader of the Opposition, as reported in the media.
“The NIA has not told us that such attacks were planned in Bangladesh, but they are still probing.”
