TMC candidate held by NIA wins polls from Nalhati

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress(TMC) Gram Panchayat candidate Manoj Ghosh who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday in connection with the discovery of 81,000 detonators in Birbhum in 2022 has won the Panchayat elections, the results of which were declared on Tuesday. Ghosh won from Banior Gram Panchayat of Nalhati I block in Birbhum by a margin of 309 votes.

According to sources, the detonators were seized during a raid conducted by the Bengal Special Task Force (STF) in July 2022, and the case was subsequently handed over to the NIA for further investigation. The sleuths had intercepted a pick-up van that was found transporting those detonators.

On July 2, Ghosh received a summons from the NIA for questioning. He, however, did not turn up citing his busy schedule ahead of the Panchayat polls.

On July 10, he was once again summoned by the NIA to appear for questioning as part of the ongoing investigation.

In April, the NIA filed a supplementary charge sheet in connection with the recovery of the 81,000 detonators.