KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged that the gherao of seven judicial officers at the BDO in Kaliachak II in Malda district on Wednesday was not only lawlessness but also a planned maha jungleraj of Trinamool Congress in the State.
He escalated attacks on the Trinamool Congress led by the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee while addressing an election campaign rally at Rashmela ground in Cooch Behar, a Rajvanshi-dominated district in north Bengal, a strong citadel of the BJP, on Sunday afternoon.
“The entire country has noticed how the judicial officers were gheraoed in Malda’s Kaliachak. What kind of government is this where even judges and the Constitution are not protected?” the PM said, landing Trinamool Congress in a deep embarrassment ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal.
“The attacks on the judicial officers involved in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls exercise in the State are attempts to throttle the Constitution of the country,” Modi said.
“The attacks were made with provocations of the Trinamool Congress to destabilise the judges mentally,” he added.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) with directive of the Election Commission of India (ECI) has already started inquiry to probe the incident in Kaliachak.
A 40-member NIA team began its probe, revisiting the spot at Kaliachak and Mothabari in Malda reconstructed sequence of events in detail.
They also met the superintendent of police in the district, and other senior administrative officers and several judicial officers since Friday.
The NIA team, probing the attack on the order of the Supreme Court, is trying to piece together the chronology of events from when the seven judicial officers, including three women, reached the BDO’s till what transpired after they left the premises on Wednesday, well past midnight.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under West Bengal police arrested advocate Mofakkarul Islam, an alleged mastermind behind the incident, from Bagdogra airport in north Bengal on Friday when he was allegedly trying to flee.
CID nabbed Islam and his associate from the spot, according to a senior police official.
“Islam is the keyman behind the Kaliachak gherao incident for more than seven hours from 4 pm on Wednesday. He was trying to board a flight to flee to Bengaluru," the official said.
While speaking to reporters, Additional Director General (ADG) of police (north Bengal) K Jayaraman said Mofakkarul Islam, a native of Itahar in North Dinajpur district, was currently residing in Kolkata.
Police said three cases have been registered against him at Kaliachak police station for allegedly "instigating" locals through speeches on Wednesday.
"We started tracking Mofakkarul Islam after the incident, and with the help of CID and Siliguri Police, we nabbed him and his associate from Bagdogra airport. Three cases were lodged against him for instigating locals in three different places," he said, adding that a total of 19 cases have been lodged in connection with the Kaliachak incident.