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KOLKATA: Seven judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) were rescued after protesters gheraoed them for several hours in West Bengal's Malda district over the deletion of names from the electoral rolls, officials said on Thursday. Security forces used batons to disperse the crowd and rescued the judicial officers, including three women, late at night on Wednesday. Alleging large-scale removal of names of voters in the SIR process, the protesters also blocked National Highway 12 (Kolkata-Siliguri) on Wednesday. The judicial officers including three women, were at the Kaliachak 2 Block Development Office which was gheraoed by the protesters around 4 pm. A large contingent of security forces rescued them after midnight, officials said. The judicial officials were brought out of the BDO office, even as protesters attempted to block their vehicles by placing bamboo poles on the road and tried to vandalise the cars, the officer said. The police used batons to disperse the crowd during the rescue operation, an officer said. "A group of agitators tried to stop the vehicles carrying the judicial officers and also attempted to damage them. Our personnel had to use mild force to ensure their safe evacuation," the officer said. There were also allegations that a few protesters were injured after being hit by vehicles during the commotion. However, it was yet to be confirmed.
Kolkata, April 2: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has sought a report from the Director General of West Bengal Police on the incident of seven judicial officers, including three women, who were involved in the ongoing judicial adjudication of voters' classified under the "logical discrepancy" category being gheraoed and held hostage at Kaliachak in Malda district by a group of voters whose names had been deleted in the process. The seven officials were taken hostage on Wednesday. However, finally, at around 1 a.m. Thursday, a huge police contingent led by senior officials of the distri ...Read More >
Kolkata, Apr 2 (PTI) Seven judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) were rescued after protesters gheraoed them for several hours in West Bengal's Malda district over the deletion of names from the electoral rolls, officials said on Thursday. Security forces used batons to disperse the crowd and rescued the judicial officers, including three women, late at night on Wednesday. Alleging large-scale removal of names of voters in the SIR process, the protesters also blocked National Highway 12 (Kolkata-Siliguri) on Wednesday. The judicial officers including three women, ...Read More >
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe into the incident of mob violence in West Bengal's Malda district, where seven judicial officers were held hostage for eight hours, during a protest against the removal of names in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The court further took a dig at the state chief secretary for being "obstinate" in not being accessible to the high court chief justice on the day of the incident, that also in ...Read More >
New Delhi, April 2 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Thursday took serious exception to an incident in West Bengal's Malda district where judicial officers deputed for work relating to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were allegedly gheraoed and attacked, observing that it was a "brazen attempt" to browbeat the judiciary and a direct challenge to the authority of the apex court. A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, hearing a suo motu writ petition titled In Re: Safety and Security of Judicial Officers Deputed f ...Read More >
Malda/Kolkata: NIA recorded the statement of one of the judicial officers held hostage at the Kaliachak-II BDO office on April 1 and secured two weeks of police custody of main accused Mofakkerul Islam on Saturday. Sources said questioning has led to the detention of three more people, though no fresh arrests were confirmed by late evening.The agency's teams visited multiple locations through the day -- beginning at the Kaliachak-II BDO office, then Mothabari police station and later the SP's off ...Read More >
Kolkata, April 2 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Election Commission of India (ECI) has sought a report from the Director General of West Bengal Police on the incident of seven judicial officers, including three women, who were involved in the ongoing judicial adjudication of voters' classified under the "logical discrepancy" category being gheraoed and held hostage at Kaliachak in Malda district by a group of voters whose names had been deleted in the process. The seven officials were taken hostage on Wednesday. However, finally, at around 1 a.m. Thursday, a huge police contingent led by senior officia ...Read More >
Kolkata, Apr 2 (PTI) The Election Commission has handed over the probe into the gherao of seven judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision exercise in West Bengal's Malda to the NIA as the incident plunged the state into fresh turmoil, with the TMC and the BJP blaming each other for it. While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the poll panel of fomenting unrest to facilitate President's rule in the poll-bound state, the BJP alleged the TMC had orchestrated the Wednesday protest to protect "bogus voters". As political confrontations inten ...Read More >
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started probe by registering a "preliminary enquiry" into Malda violence case in which thousands of people on Wednesday blocked the two gates of the Kaliachowk-2 Block Development Office (BDO), holding staff including seven judicial officers "hostage" for hours before they were rescued after midnight. The anti-terror agency initiated the preliminary enquiry late on Thursday after the Election Commission of India (ECI) formally referred the matter, sending a letter to its Director General. The ECI's direction to the NIA came following the Supreme Co ...Read More >
Kolkata: Claiming that the entire Bengal has been maligned due to Malda's Kaliachak incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata on Thursday urged the minority community to show calm and maintain restraint and asked them to "never touch the judges", in the backdrop of Malda's Kaliachak incident which was even criticized by Supreme Court. Meanwhile, protests over name deletion have erupted in Malda district's Old Malda areas, Englishbazar and Kaliachak. Calling the Malda's incident as a conspiracy of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Banerjee said, "This is a conspiracy to cancel the election. It ...Read More >
KOLKATA: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is reportedly dissatisfied with Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand, who is alleged to have failed to effectively handle demonstrations held in front of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office in the city. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition BJP have been holding repeated demonstrations since Monday outside the newly shifted office of the West Bengal CEO at the Shipping Corporation of India building on Strand Roa ...Read More >
KOLKATA: Seven judicial officers involved in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process were allegedly gheraoed for hours in West Bengal's Malda district following protests over deletion of names from electoral rolls, officials said.The protest began earlier in the day outside the Kaliachak II Block Development Office and continued late into the night. According to officials, demonstrators initially sought a meeting with the judicial officers. When they were denied entry, they launched a protest around 4 pm and eventually surrounded the office premises.Among those stranded inside were three ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Thursday took serious note of the Malda hostage incident, where protesters gheraoed judicial officers for several hours in poll-bound West Bengal. The court also issued show-cause notices to the state's chief secretary and DGP.Trouble began on Wednesday afternoon in West Bengal's Malda district when a group of protesters gathered outside the Kaliachak 2 Block Development Office around 4pm. They were angry over the alleged removal of names from the voter list during the special intensive revision (SIR) process.The protesters first demanded a meeting with the judicial ...Read More >
Malda (West Bengal) [India], April 3 (ANI): A team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrived at the Block Development Officer's (BDO) office in Malda in connection with the recent incident, where thousands of people on April 1 blocked the two gates of the Kaliachak-II BDO, holding staff including seven judicial officers "hostage" for hours before they were rescued after midnight. Earlier in the day, the anti-terror agency initiated the preliminary enquiry late on Thursday after the Election Commission of India (ECI) formally referred the matter, sending a letter to its Di ...Read More >
Kolkata, Apr 2 (PTI) The EC on Thursday published the eighth supplementary list and said it has disposed of around 52 lakh cases under adjudication in West Bengal, expressing hope that the process would be completed within the next four days in line with directions of the Calcutta High Court. The Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office has deleted around 35 to 40 per cent of the names from the rolls so far, a senior official said. "Verification and disposal of about 52 lakh cases, which were und ...Read More >
Kolkata : The West Bengal Police on Friday arrested two persons, including the alleged mastermind of the gherao of seven judicial officers in Malda district, from Siliguri's Bagdogra airport, a senior officer said. The alleged mastermind, identified as advocate Mofakkarul Islam, was arrested while he was trying to board a flight, he said. "He is the mastermind of the Kaliachak incident in which seven judicial officers were gheraoed inside a block office for several hours on Wednesday night. He was trying to board a flight to flee," the officer told PTI. Speaking to reporters, ADG (North Beng ...Read More >
Kolkata: A former AIMIM candidate was arrested on Friday over the gherao of the seven judicial officers in Malda district, adding a fresh political twist to the case as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the Asaduddin Owasi-led party, the BJP, and the ISF for "engineering" the unrest. An NIA team visited Mothabari and Kaliachak police stations in Malda to probe the Wednesday incident. The federal anti-terror probe agency has been tasked by the Election Commission to investigate the matter, following a directive from the Supreme Court. Advocate Mofakkarul Islam, described by the police as ...Read More >
Kolkata: Just three weeks ahead of the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly election, protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls spread across several districts of the state on Thursday, April 2, with agitators blocking roads and highways over the deletion of names from poll lists. Protesters burned tyres, blocked roads and held silent marches in Malda, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Purba Bardhaman, where voting will be held on April 23. A day earlier, seven judicial officers, including three women, who were engaged in the electoral rolls revision exercise, were g ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], April 3 (ANI): Russia's First Deputy Chairman Denis Manturov reaffirmed that Russian companies have the capacity to steadily increase supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the Indian market amid the energy crisis due to the conflict in West Asia, underlining deepening energy cooperation between the two countries during his official visit to the country. According to a statement issued by the Russian Embassy in India on Telegram on Thursday, Manturov highlighted that Russia had boosted supplies of in-demand mineral fertilisers to India by 40 per cent by the end ...Read More >
Kolkata: The EC published the eighth supplementary list and said it has disposed of around 52 lakh cases under adjudication in West Bengal, expressing hope that the process would be completed within the next few days in line with directions of the Calcutta High Court. Verification and disposal of about 52 lakh cases, which were under adjudication, have been completed till Thursday evening. Work for the remaining nearly 8 lakh applicants is in progress and is expected to be completed within the next four days, an EC official said. Officials expressed confidence that, if the current pace is ma ...Read More >
Kolkata, Apr 4 (PTI) A team of NIA officials, probing the gherao of seven judicial officers engaged in the SIR exercise, videographed the incident spot on the second day of their visit to Mothabari in Malda on Saturday, a senior district official said. The NIA has been tasked by the Election Commission to investigate the Wednesday incident, following a directive from the Supreme Court, which has censured the West Bengal administration over the issue. The 24-member team of the federal anti-terror probe agency, led by a DIG-ranked official, videographed the Mothabari BDO office and the area ou ...Read More >
KOLKATA/MALDA: The Bengal police on Friday arrested former AIMIM candidate and lawyer Mofakrul Islam from Bagdogra airport in Siliguri in connection with the violence and hostage situation occurred in Malda district.Mofakrul Islam was allegedly trying to board a flight and flee.Investigators have termed him a key conspirator in the Kaliachak gherao of judicial officers, as the case snowballed into a major law-and-order and political flashpoint ahead of the West Bengal elections. Islam, who contested the 2021 assembly elections from Itahar in North Dinajpur, came under the scanner after videos ...Read More >
Kolkata: PM Modi cited Sunday the confinement of seven judicial officers on SIR duty in Malda district as proof of a collapsing law-and-order situation in Bengal, sharpening his attack on Trinamool Congress at a BJP election rally in Cooch Behar."Citizens across the country were shocked at how judicial officers were held hostage in Malda. What kind of a govt is this where even judges and constitutional authorities aren't safe? If they're not safe, how can ordinary people feel safe?" Modi said.Calling the situation "a state of jungle raj", Modi said the situation had "deteriorated to such an ex ...Read More >
Kolkata, Apr 2 (PTI) The BJP on Thursday accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of instigating a mob to gherao for several hours seven judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Malda district over the deletion of names from the voters list. Security forces used batons to disperse the crowd and rescued the judicial officers, including three women, late at night on Wednesday. Alleging large-scale removal of names of voters in the SIR process, the protesters also blocked National Highway 12 (Kolkata-Siliguri) on Wednesday. The judicial officers, incl ...Read More >
Malda (West Bengal) [India], April 3 (ANI): A team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrived at the Block Development Officer's (BDO) office in Malda in connection with the recent incident, where thousands of people on April 1 blocked the two gates of the Kaliachak-II BDO, holding staff including seven judicial officers "hostage" for hours before they were rescued after midnight. Earlier in the day, the anti-terror agency initiated the preliminary enquiry late on Thursday after the Election Commission of India (ECI) formally referred the matter, sending a letter to its Di ...Read More >
New Delhi, April 4 (SocialNews.XYZ) Rising equestrian talent Stasya Pandya from Mumbai delivered an outstanding performance at the Delhi Horse Show 2026, securing two team medals in the prestigious Young Champion category. Competing against a field of over 200 equestrians across multiple categories, Stasya demonstrated exceptional skill across disciplines. In Dressage, she rode Consul, earning a Team Silver medal with a composed and technically refined performance. Building on this success, she went on to secure a Team Bronze medal in Show Jumping astride Cougar De Fees. Navigating a challen ...Read More >
Kolkata, April 4: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has begun probing the harassment of judicial adjudication officers at Kaliachak in West Bengal's Malda district, will focus in its first preliminary report on whether the incident was driven by spontaneous public anger or was a pre-planned attempt to derail the ongoing judicial adjudication process. The agency's initial findings, to be submitted to the Supreme Court next week, sources say, will focus on whether the incident was a result of the spontaneous public grievance because of the deletion of names of a large percentage of ...Read More >
Kolkata, Apr 3 (PTI) A former AIMIM candidate was arrested on Friday over the gherao of the seven judicial officers in Malda district, adding a fresh political twist to the case as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the Asaduddin Owasi-led party, the BJP, and the ISF for "engineering" the unrest. An NIA team visited Mothabari and Kaliachak police stations in Malda to probe the Wednesday incident. The federal anti-terror probe agency has been tasked by the Election Commission to investigate the matter, following a directive from the Supreme Court. Advocate Mofakkarul Islam, described by th ...Read More >
Kolkata, April 4 (SocialNews.XYZ) The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has begun probing the harassment of judicial adjudication officers at Kaliachak in West Bengal's Malda district, will focus in its first preliminary report on whether the incident was driven by spontaneous public anger or was a pre-planned attempt to derail the ongoing judicial adjudication process. The agency's initial findings, to be submitted to the Supreme Court next week, sources say, will focus on whether the incident was a result of the spontaneous public grievance because of the deletion of names of a lar ...Read More >
New Delhi: Acting on the directions of the Supreme Court, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has written to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) requesting it to conduct an inquiry into the recent incident in West Bengal's Malda district where judicial officers deputed for electoral roll revision work were allegedly gheraoed and attacked. In a communication addressed to the Director General of the NIA, the poll panel referred to the apex court's order passed in a suo motu writ petition concerning the safety and security of judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SI ...Read More >
Kolkata: Demanding the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had "completely failed" to maintain law and order, and described the gherao of seven judicial officers in Mothabari in Malda's Kaliachak block as a "conspiracy of Shah". She urged the minority community to remain calm and cautioned them to "never touch the judges", warning that they could face arrest by central agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation and the National Investigation Agency in the wake of the ...Read More >