NIA names Rishra TMC councillor Shakir Ali as key conspirator in 2023 Ram Navami violence
The National Investigation Agency has identified Trinamool Congress councillor Shakir Ali as the “main conspirator and instigator” behind the violence that broke out during the Ram Navami procession in Hooghly’s Rishra in 2023, the agency told a court on Tuesday.
Ali, the councillor of Ward 4 of Rishra Municipality, is the husband of Aparupa Poddar, former TMC MP from Arambagh. He was arrested by the NIA on Tuesday after a search operation at Poddar’s residence in Rishra.
Charges levelled by the NIA in court
Appearing before the court, the NIA alleged that Ali had “orchestrated the conspiracy” to create unrest on Ram Navami and was behind the stockpiling of brickbats and crude bombs in the area ahead of the procession.
The agency further submitted that Ali’s political influence had stalled legal action at the time. “When the incident occurred, his wife was an MP, and he himself was a councillor, because of which the local administration could not take any legal steps against them,” the NIA told the court. It added that even after the change of government in the state, no action had been possible until now.
During Tuesday’s raid, NIA officials said they recovered 36 rounds of ammunition from Ali’s house.
2023 violence
Violence erupted in Rishra on the evening of 2 April 2023, when a Ram Navami procession was passing through the area. Stones were pelted, shops and houses were vandalised, and vehicles were set on fire. Several police personnel and BJP’s Pursurah MLA Biman Ghosh were injured.
The Calcutta High Court later ordered an NIA probe into the clashes in Rishra, Howrah’s Shibpur and North Dinajpur’s Dalkhola, noting that explosives had been used. Still, the state police had not invoked the Explosive Substances Act. The NIA subsequently registered six cases, including two related to Rishra.
Arrest and fallout
An NIA team, accompanied by CRPF personnel, reached Ali’s Rishra residence on Tuesday morning and questioned him for several hours before placing him under arrest. He was produced before the competent court following the arrest.
“The investigation is continuing, and we are examining the role of all individuals connected with the conspiracy and the violence,” an NIA official said.
Aparupa Poddar, a two-time TMC MP, was denied a party ticket for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. There was no immediate official reaction from the TMC on Ali’s arrest.