PIL Filed In Calcutta High Court Seeking NIA Probe Into Crude Bomb Blasts In WB's Malda District Which Injured 5 School Children

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition has been filed in the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday seeking a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the incident of crude bomb blast in West Bengal's Malda district on Sunday.  

Five school children were reportedly injured after the crude bombs they were playing with, mistaking those for balls, exploded in Kaliachak's Gopalnagar village close to the India-Bangladesh border on Sunday.

The concerned counsel mentioned the matter before a Bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj on Tuesday seeking leave to file the PIL. 

The Court was also apprised that the affected children are merely 4-5 years old and that they have been critically injured as a result of the blast. It was further averred that the incident falls within the category of a 'scheduled offence' under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 and thus a probe by the NIA was also sought. 

Pursuant to the submission, the Chief Justice orally remarked, "Give your mentioning slip, we will consider". The matter is likely to be heard sometime this week. 

According to reports, five people who are local residents have been interested in connection with the blast. Furthermore, apex child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also asked the West Bengal authorities to give specialised medical treatment to the four children who sustained injuries in the crude bomb blast. In a letter to the West Bengal Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, the NCPCR has asked them to conduct a detailed investigation into the incident and submit a report within 10 days.

It may be noted that recently the High Court has ordered the transfer of investigation into explosions in Birbhum district to the NIA from the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of State of West Bengal by holding that the central agency has precedence in the investigation of scheduled offence.