Kolkata, April 2: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has requested a report from the Director General of Police in West Bengal regarding an incident in which seven judicial officers were taken hostage by a group of voters in Kaliacchak, Malda district. This group was protesting against the classification of certain voters as “logically inconsistent.”
The officers, including three women, were held captive on Wednesday by irate voters unhappy with the removal of names from the electoral roll. However, early Thursday, a police team led by senior district officials arrived at the scene and successfully rescued the judicial officers after they had been held for nine hours. Reports indicate that there was an attempted attack on the convoy during the officers’ evacuation.
At the same time, another group of protesters blocked the national highway near Kaliacchak Block-I in the Sujapur assembly constituency of Malda district. The administration eventually managed to reassure the protesters that efforts would be made to reinstate the names removed from the voter list, leading to the lifting of the blockade.
As is often the case, this incident has sparked a political tug-of-war between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Central Minister of State for Education and former state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar stated that the mistreatment of judicial officers is a direct result of inflammatory statements made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress regarding the Special Intensive Review (SIR) process.
Majumdar remarked, “SIR is a nationwide process. There has been no such uproar in other states governed by opposition parties. West Bengal is the only exception, as the ruling party and state administration have been trying to obstruct this process from the beginning.”
In response, the Trinamool Congress asserted that ensuring the safety of judicial officers is the responsibility of the Election Commission. Kunal Ghosh, the party’s state general secretary and candidate from the Beliaghata assembly constituency in North Kolkata, stated that their party does not believe in taking the law into their own hands.
Ghosh emphasized, “We want to make it clear that the Election Commission bears full responsibility for this incident. The Trinamool Congress does not support any attempts to take the law into one’s own hands. We are protesting against the mass removal of voter names, but without causing any disturbances. Those creating such chaos are two or three parties supported by the BJP.”
He pointed to the Aam Aadmi Udyog Party (AAUP), founded by former Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir, and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), established by Asaduddin Owaisi, which are jointly contesting elections primarily in minority-dominated areas. However, he did not name these parties directly.
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