Former Trinamool Congress MLA Shaukat Mollah, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), has been identified as the key conspirator in the Bhangar bomb blast case in Bengal, officials stated.
The NIA has arrested absconding former MLA Mollah, the probe agency said in a statement on Saturday.
Molla, who had been on the run, was captured in the South 24 Parganas district after the NIA conducted extensive searches as part of its investigation.
The blast occurred on March 19 during the manufacturing of a crude bomb, resulting in the death of one bomb maker and injuries to several others.
The fourth accused to be arrested in the case, the ex MLA, was the key conspirator who had directed the other accused to make the bomb, the NIA found during the investigation.
Mollah (the former Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Canning Purba) had also directed other accused to tamper with the scene of the explosion, the probe further revealed.
His arrest followed the apprehension of another suspect, who had transported the deceased and injured individuals in his Scorpio vehicle after the blast, the statement said.
The arrested individuals are being interrogated to determine if there are any additional conspiracies related to the case, which the NIA took over from the state police at the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Mollah is also known in Bengal's political discourse for being the subject of the viral Bengali political satire song "Mach Chor" (Fish Thief), which gained widespread popularity on social media and was frequently used by political opponents to mock the former MLA. The phrase emerged from earlier political controversies involving Mollah and became a recurring meme in Bengal's online political culture.