Kolkata, Feb 26 : After three failed attempts, the NIA will again try to produce the seven accused, arrested in West Bengal's Beldanga unrest case, in a city court on Thursday.

This would be the fourth attempt to produce the accused in court, as on the previous three occasions, the state police did not provide the necessary escort to bring the accused from Murshidabad district to Kolkata.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has been probing the Beldanga unrest as per the Calcutta High Court order, has said that if the state government fails, then it will itself arrange an escort to bring the accused to the court. However, it has to be seen whether the state police will provide an escort to bring the accused to the court this time.

Sources said that NIA would seek the custody of the seven accused for an investigation into the unrest. However, it has to be seen whether the accused are produced in the city sessions court on Thursday and the NIA gets the custody.

It may be noted that NIA, on last Friday, approached the Calcutta High Court seeking its intervention in directing the West Bengal Police to submit the case diary of last month's violence to the Central agency officials probing the matter.

In its petition, the NIA counsel had argued that the state police were refusing to hand over the case diary in the matter despite the Supreme Courtâ??s Division Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi last month, refusing to entertain the plea of the state government opposing the NIA probe.

Incidentally, the court had asked the state to hand over the case diary by February 26. It has to be seen whether the case diary is handed over to the NIA.

Last month, Beldanga in Murshidabad district became the centre of unrest after the news of the death of Alauddin Sheikh, a migrant worker from Murshidabad, in Jharkhand, reached.

When Alauddin's body arrived there on January 16, local people took to the streets. The protesters blocked the national highway on January 16, burning tyres and pelting stones. Even train services on the Sealdah-Lalgola route were disrupted by the violent protests. A female journalist was attacked in Beldanga that day. Although the police cleared the protests on the first day, Beldanga erupted again on January 17.

A total of 36 people, including an AIMIM leader, were arrested in connection with their involvement in the unrest.

The Calcutta High Court had stated that if the Central government wished, it could have the National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigate the Beldanga incident. Following this, the Ministry of Home Affairs handed over the investigation to the Central agency.

The Supreme Court did not grant any stay on the NIA investigation in accordance with the state's demand during the hearing of the case. However, the court said in its order that the NIA will submit a report to the division bench of the Calcutta High Court in a sealed envelope stating whether there is a prima facie basis for the application of UAPA during the investigation.

/IANS