NIA conducts voice test of TMC leader

Kolkata, Jan 29 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths after obtaining information about the influential political links from the mobile phone of arrested Trinamool Congress leader Ismail Chowdhury in the 2022 Birbhum explosives case, have conducted his voice sampling test.

To confirm the clues, sources said, the voice sampling test of Chowdhury has already been conducted which will soon be sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory.

Sources said the NIA sleuths have come across several audio messages from the mobile phone of the arrested Trinamool Congress leader. Among the clues secured by the central agency sleuths from those audio messages was about the probable connection of Sehgal Hossain, a prime accused in the cattle smuggling case in West Bengal.

Hossian, was the bodyguard of Trinamool Congress strongman and the party’s erstwhile Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal. Both of them are currently in judicial custody at Tihar jail in New Delhi in the cattle smuggling case.

Recently, NIA sleuths also went to Tihar Jail and questioned Hossian in the matter there, sources said.

To recall, huge explosives items, including 81,000 detonators, 27 kilograms of ammonium nitrates and 1,925 kg gelatin sticks were recovered at Muhammadbazar area of Birbhum district on June 30, 2022.

These explosives were seized by the sleuths of the Special Task Force (STF) of state police. The NIA took charge of the investigation on September 29 of the same year and filed a charge sheet in the case within 90 days after the beginning of the investigation. In July this year the NIA sleuths also arrested a local Trinamool Congress leader from Birbhum, Manoj Ghosh.