New Delhi, April 29 -- Teams from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have been deployed in the seven districts voting in the second phase of the West Bengal assembly elections on April 29 to independently search for explosives, Election Commission of India officials said. The proactive deployment comes after the agency on April 26 started investigating a bomb seizure case in Bhangar's Uttar Kashipur area in South 24 Parganas on a Home Ministry directive. While the teams are in all poll-bound districts, a senior ECI official said they have been specifically deployed at Bhangar, Burdwan, Hooghly, Nadia, Baruipur and Kasba, Diamond Harbour, the Bishnupur police station area, and the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate area. The teams will register fresh cases if warranted, a senior ECI official said. HT reached out to the NIA's public relations office but did not receive a response. NIA's first formal involvement in the election cycle came after seven judicial officers overseeing the voter roll revision process were held hostage by a mob in Malda on April 1. The Supreme Court on April 2 directed the ECI to order a CBI or NIA probe, following which the NIA registered a preliminary enquiry and later arrested the alleged mastermind at Bagdogra airport. htc...