US EditionProtest Erupts Over Electoral Roll Deletion in West Bengal
- On Wednesday, a mob gheraoed seven judicial officers at the Kaliachowk-II BDO office in Malda, West Bengal, holding them hostage for over nine hours during a Special Intensive Revision exercise adjudicating voter eligibility.
- Residents blocked National Highway 12, alleging mass deletions from electoral rolls. Mortaja Ali, a Mohabbatpur resident in Mothabari Assembly, stated "almost 80 per cent of names under adjudication have been deleted" in his booth.
- The Supreme Court found the incident a "calculated attempt" to derail the exercise. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the state government's inaction was "highly deplorable," signaling judicial alarm over the hostage crisis.
- Justices issued show-cause notices to senior police officials and directed the Election Commission to deploy central forces protecting judicial officers. The court indicated inclination to order a CBI investigation into the incident.
- The SIR involves over 60 lakh voters; by Wednesday evening, the Election Commission had disposed of 49 lakh adjudication cases. The Supreme Court previously ordered 19 tribunals statewide for appeals by voters whose names were deleted.
35 Articles
35 Articles
West Bengal poll chaos: Villagers hold SIR officers 'hostage', EC asks NIA to probe case
The Election Commission has handed over the investigation into the gherao of judicial officers in Malda, West Bengal, to the National Investigation Agency. This move follows strong criticism from the Supreme Court regarding the state's 'complete failure' to protect officers during electoral ...
AIMIM leaders have come under police scrutiny following violent protests in Malda, West Bengal. They have been accused of inciting a mob to surround officials in Kaliachak. Police have launched an investigation into the incident. So far, 18 people have been arrested.
Mamata blames EC for 'failing to protect' judicial officers
Sagardighi: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday, April 1, blamed the Election Commission for “failing to protect” judicial officers engaged in the SIR exercise in West Bengal’s Malda district. Seven judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) were rescued by security forces after protesters gheraoed them for several hours on Wednesday over the deletion of names from the electoral rolls. “I condemn the Election Commis…
SC calls West Bengal 'most polarised state', says judicial officers' gherao in Malda was 'preplanned'
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said the incident was a “brazen attempt to challenge the authority of this Court' and aimed at demoralising judicial officers engaged in election-related duties.
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