NIA makes 14 more arrests over Malda hostage of judicial officers before Bengal polls

The NIA arrested 14 more people in connection with the gherao of judicial officers ahead of the assembly elections in West Bengal's Malda district, officials said on Tuesday. The arrests were made on Monday night following searches at multiple locations in Kaliachak and Mothabari areas of the district, they said. With this, 68 people have been arrested in the case so far, they added. According to investigators, those arrested had direct involvement in the alleged harassment and confinement of judicial officers in Mothabari last month. Seven judicial officers were held hostage inside the BDO office in Mothabari, and an eighth was confined inside a vehicle for about nine hours on April 1 after a large crowd, protesting the deletion of names from voters' lists, turned violent by blocking roads, vandalising vehicles and attacking police personnel, officials said.

These judicial officers were deputed for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. They were rescued by security forces late in the night, triggering a political furore in the state ahead of the assembly polls. "The NIA is trying to identify others linked to the incident. Several crucial leads have emerged during questioning of those earlier arrested and scrutiny of CCTV footage, leading to a series of arrests over the past few weeks," a senior official said. The NIA took over the investigation into the case following the direction of the Supreme Court. Among those earlier arrested were ISF's Mothabari candidate Maulana Shahjahan Ali Qadri and ISF leader Golam Rabbani.