The National Investigation Agency, which is probing into the Nimtita-blast in Murshidabad, questioned Emani Biswas, Trinamul Congress’s candidate from Suti, for over four hours on Thursday.

Sources in the NIA said they had found certain leads after interrogating two persons whom the Bengal’s CID had arrested in the case earlier — Abu Samad, 44 and Saidul Islam, 36, — and decided to check them with Biswas.

On February 17, at least 26 persons were severely injured in a blast that took place at Nimtita railway station in Murshidabad. Among the injured was Jakir Hossain, state’s junior minister for labour and Jangipur’s Trinamul MLA. Jakir hails from Suti in Murshidabad. Jakir and Biswas own biri factories and had their own set of followers across Murshidabad district, NIA officials said.

“We have no clue why the NIA questioned Emani,” said Abu Taher Khan, Trinamul’s MP from Murshidabad. “An agency can always question one but our demand would be that those actually involved in the blast be identified and punished.”

Emani was questioned at the agency’s office in Calcutta, which is less than a kilometre away from that of the Enforcement Directorate which summoned Vivek Gupta, Trinamul’s candidate from Jorasanko in central Calcutta, for questioning in Saradha chit fund case next week.

The ED also summoned former Trinamul Rajya Sabha member Ahmed Hassan Imran for questioning in the same case. Madan Mitra, Trinamul candidate from Kamarhati, has also been summoned.

Trinamul leadership has slammed the move by the central agencies as a deliberate attempt to instil a sense of fear among a section of the party’s candidates ahead of the Assembly polls.

“Saradha case is being probed for several years and suddenly, both the CBI and the ED are waking up to the fact that they need to question some of our candidates now,” said a senior Trinamul leader in Calcutta. “All these central agencies are working under the instructions of the BJP. This attempt to intimidate will backfire.”

In Calcutta, officials of the ED, which is probing into the money laundering aspect of the Saradha deposit mobilising scam, said Gupta had been asked to appear before investigating officers early next week. Sources said Gupta, who had been earlier questioned by the CBI in the same case, would be asked to clarify about the alleged transaction that had taken place between his publishing firm and Saradha Group chairman Sudipta Sen for printing a newspaper owned by the Group.

Sources said the former Trinamul MP Imran would be asked to clarify his deal with Sen and his group. The Saradha group had taken over two newspapers run by Imran.