A six-member team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) reached Daribhit, a village in the Islampur subdivision of North Dinajpur on Wednesday to probe the death of two youths due to firing.

The team members visited the Daribhit High School area where the incident
had occurred and spoke with family members of Tapas Barman and Rajesh Sarkar who had lost their lives in the incident.

This is the second time that a team from the agency has been to the village.

It may be mentioned that on September 20, 2018, protests rocked Daribhit over the recruitment of some teachers at the local high school. Police had to intervene and during the protests, gun shots were fired. Tapas and Rajesh died while Biplab Sarkar, another youth, got injured.

The incident led to repercussions in the political arena and BJP picked up the issue, accusing the state police for firing.

The state initiated a probe but on May 10, 2023, the Calcutta High Court ordered an NIA probe of the incident.

After the order, a team from NIA reached Daribhit and spoke with the family members of the deceased youths and recorded their statements.

“During that visit, the team also met me and heard details of the incident. They also collected copies of my medical reports for investigation,” Biplab, who was hit by a bullet, said.

Around 11am on Wednesday, the NIA team spoke with some people at the local market. They then went to Tapas’s house and spoke with his sister.

The team then met Nilkamal Sarkar, Rajesh’s father and went to the ground of
Daribhit High School where the incident occurred. They extensively carried out observation in and around the ground and left the village after a couple of hours, sources said.

Kartick Chandra Paul, the newly-elected BJP MP of Raiganj, said they are
with the victims’ families of Daribhit.

“NIA is investigating the case and we believe the truth will be unveiled. We
will continue our struggle unless the families get justice,” said Paul.