The Election Commission of India has requested a report from the Director General of West Bengal Police regarding an incident where seven judicial officers, including three women, were held hostage by a group of voters in Kaliachak, Malda district. The officials were gheraoed during the ongoing judicial adjudication of voters categorized under “logical discrepancy” but were rescued by a police contingent after nine hours.
Following the rescue, reports emerged of an attempted attack on the convoy while the judicial officers were being moved to safety. In a separate incident, protesters blocked National Highways near Kaliachak, which was later resolved by the administration assuring a prompt re-inclusion of deleted voter names in the list.
The situation has sparked a political dispute between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar criticized the Trinamool Congress for allegedly fueling the incident through provocative statements against the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision exercise.
In response, Trinamool Congress emphasized the Election Commission’s responsibility for the officers’ security. Party representative Kunal Ghosh clarified that Trinamool does not endorse vigilantism and blamed the ECI for the incident, distancing the party from chaos while protesting the mass deletion of voter names.
