In a major breakthrough in the West Bengal Ram Navami violence incident that occurred last year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested 16 persons for conspiring and carrying out a communal attack during a religious procession.
The 16 accused taken into custody by NIA have been identified and all of them are residents of Dalkhola.
The arrests have been made on the basis of revelations that came to light during the probe, and the identification of the accused from video footage of the violence seized in the course of the investigations.
The incident had taken place on March 30, 2023, during a procession to celebrate Ram Navami in Dalkhola, District Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal. The accused were among the perpetrators of the attack on members of a particular community participating in the procession.
The state police had initially registered a case against 162 persons in the wake of the communal violence triggered by the attack at Tajamul Chawk, Uttar Dalkhola.
Subsequently, the High Court of Calcutta, on April 27, 2023, ordered the transfer of cases related to communal during Ram Navami celebrations to the NIA, which took up investigation of six such cases, including the instant case
