Nimita Attack and UAPA: 99% Case Failures Expose NIA as a Political Tool of the BJP

On February 17, 2021, Nimita Railway Station in Murshidabad district, West Bengal, witnessed a bomb attack targeting Trinamool Congress MLA and former Minister of State for Labour, Jakir Hossain. The attack injured the MLA and about 20 others. While the West Bengal CID initially investigated the incident, the case was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) by the Central Government.

The NIA investigation led to the arrest of three individuals suspected of involvement in the attack. They were accused of using IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) and were charge-sheeted under Sections 307, 326, 120B of the IPC, UAPA, and the Explosive Substances Act. However, the special court observed that the NIA failed to produce sufficient evidence: no explosives were recovered, no eyewitness testimony was presented, and today, all three accused have been acquitted.

This is far from an isolated incident. Government data and reports from PTI, Business Standard, and The Print show that between 2016 and 2020, a total of 24,134 individuals were charged under the UAPA, yet only 212 were convicted — a conviction rate of just 0.8%. In other words, nearly 99% of cases could not be proven.

The pattern is consistent in major terrorist incidents as well. In the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast, which killed 16 people, the NIA’s prolonged investigation culminated in the 2018 acquittal of all accused due to lack of evidence. In the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing, which claimed 68 lives, the NIA failed to present adequate proof, leading to the acquittal of four individuals in 2019. Similarly, in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, the trial court acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Pradeep Purohit, in 2025 — again due to insufficient evidence and hostile witnesses.

While the agency struggles to secure convictions in cases involving individuals linked to the BJP and the RSS, thousands of Muslims are routinely arrested under mere suspicion, spending 10, 15, or even 20 years in detention before finally being proven innocent.

The Nimita attack case, along with multiple other terrorist incidents and UAPA cases, highlights a disturbing trend: the NIA frequently fails in collecting or presenting evidence — sometimes seemingly deliberately. Years-long detentions without proof, followed by acquittals, raise serious concerns about justice and fairness. The statistics speak for themselves: the NIA is increasingly being used not as a neutral investigative agency but as a political instrument serving the interests of the BJP.

Hakikul Islam
State President
SDPI – West Bengal