Officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) wilfully endangered the life of a 13-year-old boy during their investigations of the Bardhaman blasts, an inquiry report by the district administration has revealed.
The NIA officials had engaged a child for retrieval of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) from a house in Bardhaman in October.
The State (West Bengal) Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) took cognisance of media reports of a minor being engaged by NIA officials on October 16 to explore a secret shelf in a house while searching for explosives following the blasts.
On October 20, the Commission wrote to District Magistrate, Bardhaman, Soumitra Mohan, to submit a factual report on why and under what circumstances the child was engaged in a life-threatening operation. Civil rights groups had raised the issue then and The Hindu had also reported the matter on October 21.
