Kamal Ghorui
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 surfaced showing him leading protests in Malda’s Sujapur. In one of the clips that went viral, he is heard challenging the administration, shouting: “Hey DM, hey SP… where is the CID, where is the IB? Come here.” Police said his role in mobilising and inciting the mob is under active investigation. His arrest takes the total number of people held so far to over 30, including an Indian Secular Front (ISF) candidate. Several others remain at large, with raids continuing across Malda and adjoining districts.
Malda hostage situation
The violence began on Wednesday amid protests over alleged mass deletion of names from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.Demonstrations spread across multiple districts, including Malda, Jalpaiguri and North 24 Parganas, with protesters blocking highways, burning tyres and raising slogans against the administration. The situation turned critical in Kaliachak-II block, where a large mob surrounded seven judicial officers, including three women, inside a BDO office.The officers, tasked with adjudicating voter list objections under Supreme Court guidelines, were held under siege for more than eight hours. According to accounts later recorded by the court, the officers were denied food and water, and repeated calls for help went unanswered for hours. The gherao continued till past midnight, when police finally intervened and rescued them under tense conditions.As they were escorted out, their convoy was attacked with stones and sticks, and at least one vehicle was vandalised. One of the women officers described the ordeal as a “nightmare”, saying they feared for their lives as the crowd swelled and no timely rescue came. The officers have since refused to return to the Kaliachak-II office and are now working from an alternative location under central force protection.
What Supreme Court said
Taking note of the incident based on a report from the Calcutta high court chief justice, the Supreme Court strongly criticised the West Bengal administration.A bench led by the Chief Justice termed the incident a “brazen”, “well-planned” and “deliberate” attempt to intimidate judicial officers and obstruct their duties.The court said the episode amounted to a direct challenge to its authority and could constitute criminal contempt. It also observed a “complete failure” of the civil and police administration in maintaining law and order.The apex court issued show-cause notices to the chief secretary, home secretary, DGP, district magistrate and superintendent of police, asking why action should not be initiated against them for failing to ensure the officers’ safety despite being alerted early in the day. The court recorded that senior officials were informed multiple times, including through calls involving the high court’s registrar general and chief justice, but effective action was delayed until late at night.
CM responds
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee urged people not to take the law into their own hands, even as she acknowledged public anger over alleged voter deletions.She backed a central probe but accused the BJP and central agencies of attempting to create unrest ahead of elections.She also alleged that opposition forces were trying to provoke voters and disrupt the electoral process, warning that violence would only weaken their case. Banerjee claimed that the Election Commission, which currently oversees law and order during elections, had failed to protect judicial officers despite being in control of the administrative machinery.
