KOLKATA: The National Investigating Agency (NIA) on Sunday arrested two Congress leaders allegedly involved in the gherao of judicial officers by locals protesting against the deletion of voter names in the Special Intensive Resivision (SIR) in Malda.
The NIA arrested two local leaders, Shahdat Hossain and Asif Sheikh, in connection with the gherao of seven judicial officers (JOs) in Malda district's Kaliachak block on April 1.
Earlier, the NIA had arrested several persons, including an Indian Secular Front (ISF) candidate in connection with the incident.
The agency also detained Sayan Chowdhury, Congress-nominated candidate from Mothabari assembly constituency in Malda on Sunday and reportedly seized his mobile for further investigation. He was later released after a prolonged interrogation.
"It is a well-planned political conspiracy to detain me for long hours amidst election campaigns,” Chowdhury told reporters on Monday.
Sources said that during the interrogation, the NIA team found discrepancies in the statements of Hossain and Sheikh.
Earlier on April 3, the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested advocate Mofakkarul Islam, an alleged mastermind behind the incident, from Bagdogra airport in north Bengal, while he was reportedly trying to flee.
The Police also nabbed Islam's associate from the airport, a senior police official said. "Islam is the keyman behind the Kaliachak incident... He was trying to board a flight to flee to Bengaluru," the official said.
Apart from Kaliachak, protests were also reported from other parts of the district on April 1, with just weeks ahead of Assembly elections in the state scheduled on April 23 and 29.
Expressing serious concern over such incidents, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar had held an emergency meeting through video conferencing with the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal, state chief secretary Dushyant Nariala, home secretary, director general of police, Kolkata police commissioner, district magistrates and superintendents of police, to take stock of the situation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on April 5 alleged that the gherao of the seven JOs in Kaliachak II was not only lawlessness but also a planned maha jungleraj of Trinamool Congress in the State.
“Just a few days ago, the entire nation witnessed judicial officers being held hostage in Malda. What kind of government is this where even judges and the constitutional procedures are not safe? We cannot expect such a government to keep the people of Bengal safe” the PM said.
“What happened in Malda is an example of maha jungleraj of Trinamool Congress in Bengal,” he said alleging that the ruling party was ‘bent on carrying out the funeral procession of law and order’ in the state.
“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 alleged.