Court to hear arrest plea of Mahato on Mon

Kolkata: A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court said that it will hear the investigation agency's prayer for arrest warrant against ex-Maoist sympathiser Chhatradhar Mahato and four others in connection with the murder of CPI(M) leader Prabir Mahato and holding up the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express for hours in the year 2009 on Monday.

Mahato, who is presently the Bengal secretary of Trinamool Congress along with 26 others appeared before the special NIA court at Bichar Bhavan on Friday. Mahato, however, remained inside a car and did not enter the courtroom during the hearing citing that he had fever.

NIA had filed a petition for adding certain sections in the case and had also prayed for issuing arrest warrant against my client and four others without serving any notice to us regarding the same. We were served the concerned documents today (Friday) and accordingly we prayed for hearing of the matter. The court has scheduled hearing of the case on Monday when Mahato and others will have to depose," said Kaushik Sinha, advocate for Mahato.

NIA, some months back took over the case and re-registered it against Mahato, along with 30 others.

The NIA had summoned Mahato and others for interrogation on August 28 and 29 at the Cobra Camp at Salboni in West Midnapore district. But they did not get satisfactory answers from Mahato.

The former PCAPA leader was summoned by the NIA court in connection with the two cases of 2009.

The Rajdhani Express was detained at the Banstala station in Jhargram on September 26, 2009 to demand the release of Chhatradhar Mahato, who was then in jail as a leader of the Lalgarh People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCAPA). Left leader Prabir Mahato was allegedly killed by PCAPA members at Dharampur in Lalgarh on June 14, 2009.