KOLKATA: Several voters who were removed from the electoral rolls of West Bengal after the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise have gheraoed seven judicial officers (JOs) in Malda district's Kaliachak block.
The officials, including four women were in charge of verifying the documents of the voters marked as "under adjudication" by the Election Commission of India (ECI) during the SIR.
The ECI has reportedly informed Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Sujay Paul, who has been monitoring the verification process following directives from the Supreme Court.
Sources in the office of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said the Superintendent of Police (SP) and the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) had rushed to the spot around 11 pm.
A huge contingent of state police has been deployed at the office of the Block Development Officer (BDO) in Kaliachak, a minority-dominated area in the district.
Apart from Kaliachak, protests were also reported from other parts of the district on Wednesday, with just weeks ahead of Assembly elections in the state. Protesters also blocked the National Highway 12.
Malda district has recorded more than 18,000 dead and duplicate voters, while the number of adjudicated electors stands at around 8.30 lakh—a significant figure compared to the total electorate of 29.86 lakh in the district.
Sources in the district administration said that protests intensified after many people found their names missing from the supplementary lists released by the Election Commission last week.