Falta: In a decision that will put arrested Trinamool neta Jahangir Khan aka Pushpa in further legal trouble, the Diamond Harbour District Police has re-opened a six-year-old high-profile political assault case on senior national BJP netas for re-investigation.The move comes years after the BJP repeatedly slammed the initial probe, terming it a complete sham.According to top brass in the Bengal Police, the case pertains to the violent attack on senior BJP neta JP Nadda — who was the party’s national president at the time — during his visit to Diamond Harbour on Dec 10, 2020. The incident had unfolded barely a week before the present CM, Suvendu Adhikari, officially defected from TMC to join the saffron camp.Police said that the initial probe conducted under the previous administration was fundamentally flawed.“The primary FIR named the prime accused, Khan, alongside other influential individuals, who were later systematically discharged. The previous probe was highly superficial, necessitating a thorough re-investigation to ensure justice,” a senior Bengal Police officer said.Khan, the defeated TMC assembly candidate from Falta, is already in police custody.The original incident occurred around 12 noon on Dec 10, 2020, when Nadda’s convoy was traveling to a rally in Diamond Harbour —the parliamentary constituency of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. A mob, allegedly consisting of supporters from TMC, intercepted the convoy on way, launching a coordinated assault with bricks, stones, and heavy sticks.Meanwhile, ground realities have completely shifted for the accused. In a striking public display, the Diamond Harbour Police marched a visibly subdued Khan through the streets of Falta under heavy security for a second consecutive day to reconstruct the crime and identify hidden assets. A video that has since gone viral on social media shows Khan, stripped of his former bravado, folding his hands and seeking forgiveness from onlookers and passersby. A similar public shaming was also enacted in the neighboring Magrahat West constituency against another local neta, who’s also a co-accused in the Nadda case.Khan had been on the run since May 21 following the conclusion of voting, before being apprehended by the STF on the India-Nepal border in Panitanki. Facing at least eight active FIRs ranging from extortion to post-poll violence, his custody was recently extended by an additional six days.
