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Malda (West Bengal) [India], April 6 (ANI): The District Magistrate of West Bengal's Malda has issued a show-cause notice to the Additional District Magistrate (Law and Order) after seven judicial officers, including three women, were gheraoed on April 1. The showcause notice dated April 4 was served to Shaikh Ansar Ahmad over "Serious lapse in duty and failure to report ground situation to higher authority on 1st April 2026, regarding the condition of Judicial Officers at Kaliachak." The notice mentions that the ADM (Law and Order)'s active communication with the Sub-Divisional Officer and the Block Development Officer established that he was "fully aware of the developments unfolding on the ground and cannot claim ignorance of the prevailing situation."
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 >
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on the West Bengal government following the Malda incident, where seven judicial officers were held hostage for several hours. The top court described West Bengal as the most polarised state and said the judicial officers' gherao in Malda was a "preplanned, calculated and motivated" attempt to derail the electoral process. "Unfortunately in your state each one speaks political language and this is the most polarised state. You are forcing us to make observations. Do you think we are not aware of who are the miscreants? I was monitori ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The election commission on Thursday evening directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe the gherao of seven judicial officers assigned to hear appeals against deletions from West Bengal final rolls, by certain "anti-social elements" in Maldah district of the state.This came hours after the Supreme Court instructed EC to entrust the inquiry/ investigation into the incident to an independent agency, such as the Central Bureau of Investigation or the National Investigation Agency, "during the course of the day".EC has asked NIA to submit preliminary inquiry report directl ...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 >
MUMBAI: ICICI Bank has rolled back its rule requiring new savings accounts opened after Aug 1 to maintain a monthly average balance (MAB) of Rs 50,000 and has revised the threshold to Rs 15,000. The move follows a social media backlash against the higher balance requirement, which was criticised for making banking exclusive.The bank said it has revised its schedule of charges and MAB requirements following customer feedback. The changes do not apply to salary accounts, senior citizens above 60 years, basic accounts/PM Jan Dhan Yojana accounts, or those opened before July 31, 2025.Meanwhile, HD ...Read More >
Malda (West Bengal) [India], April 4 (ANI): A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team on Saturday visited the office of the Malda Superintendent of Police (SP) and later investigated the Block Development Officer's (BDO) office in Kaliachowk, Malda. The probe was related to the gherao of seven judicial officers that took place on April 1. A major political storm had erupted in West Bengal as seven judicial officers, including three women, were held hostage by villagers in Malda district on Wednesday. Also Read | Kerala Lottery Result Today 3 PM Live, Karunya KR-748 Lottery Result of April 4 ...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 >
NEW DELHI: Taking strong exception to the attack on judicial officers complying with its order to adjudicate objections regarding exclusion from voter list in West Bengal's Malda district, Supreme Court on Thursday said there is breakdown of law and order in the state and issued show-cause notice to the chief secretary, DGP, district magistrate and SP to explain why action should not be taken against them. SC said it was a "deliberate and calculated" attempt to demoralise the judicial officers and obstruct them from discharging their duty. This cannot be tolerated, it said and directed the Ele ...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 >
New Delhi, Apr 6 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over cases related to the gherao of seven judicial officers in Malda, observing that the bureaucracy's credibility was being lowered and politics was being injected into the West Bengal secretariat and government offices. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi exercised its plenary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to transfer around 12 cases related to the April 1 incident, as rioting is not a scheduled offence under the NIA Act. ...Read More >
MADURAI: Likening the custodial murder of Ajith Kumar in Tiruppuvanam to an 'organised crime by police where the state kills its own citizens,' Madras high court lambasted the Tamil Nadu police and said the action against the perpetrators should be more stringent than in normal murder cases.A division bench of Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice A D Maria Clete pointed to 44 external injuries on the person of Ajith Kumar and said no part of the body was spared by the delinquent cops. "Even an ordinary murderer would not have inflicted such kind of injuries," the bench said on Tuesday.The natur ...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: 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 >
New Delhi/Kolkata, Apr 2 (PTI) Observing that West Bengal was the "most polarised state", the Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a stinging indictment of the state administration after seven judicial officers engaged in SIR exercise were held hostage by protesters in Malda district and directed a CBI or NIA probe into the incident. Slamming the administration for its "complete failure" and inaction over the "deplorable" gherao and attack on the officers during the Special Intensive Revision(SIR) of the voters list, the court also asked the EC to "requisition adequate Central Forces and deplo ...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 >
New Delhi: The Delhi cabinet on Tuesday approved the establishment of Integrated District Project Fund (IDPF) and District Project Fund (DPF), which will facilitate the execution of small but essential development projects without bureaucratic hurdles in 11 districts of the capital.The cabinet, chaired by chief minister Rekha Gupta, also approved the formation of Delhi State Ayush Society to ensure the effective implementation of National Ayush Mission in the capital, and gave its nod to increase the number of data entry operators associated with each MLA from two to four and to raise their mo ...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 >
Baramulla, Aug 13: Deputy Commissioner (DC) Baramulla, Minga Sherpa on Wednesday felicitated health workers, Panchayat Secretaries, and ASHA workers of recently declared TB-free panchayats from Medical Blocks Uri, Tangmarg, and Boniyar at Boys Degree College Baramulla.Speaking on the occasion, DC stressed the importance of TB testing of the maximum possible population to sustain the district's progress. He said, "Over the past several months, we have accelerated testing, and the results are encouraging. However, more testing is essential so that the district can achieve TB-free status. We are ...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 >