Kolkata, April 3 – Mofakkarul Islam, the mastermind behind the harassment of judicial officers in Kaliachak, West Bengal’s Malda district, was arrested at Bagdogra airport in the Darjeeling district on Friday while attempting to flee the state.
Islam, a lawyer by profession, has been actively involved with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), founded by Asaduddin Owaisi.
A warrant for Islam’s arrest was issued by the Supreme Court on Thursday. Since then, the police had been searching for him in various locations.
He had also been unreachable on his mobile phone since Thursday.
Islam, originally from Porsa Hatkhola in Itahar, North Dinajpur district, is a practicing lawyer in both the Raiganj District Court and the Calcutta High Court, both located in the same district.
For the past few years, he has primarily resided in Kolkata with his wife and children. Before the 2021 Assembly elections, he joined AIMIM and also contested as its candidate from the Itahar constituency. However, he was not only defeated but also lost his security deposit.
On Wednesday night, when the judicial officers were being harassed, a person was seen addressing an agitated crowd at Kaliachak, who had held the judicial officers hostage for approximately seven hours.
Later, the person, seen addressing the crowd and making provocative statements, was identified as Islam. An arrest warrant was issued against him, and he was finally arrested at the airport in the morning.
With the arrest of Islam, the total number of arrests in the case has increased to 19. Among the other 18 arrested, one is Maulana Shahjahan Ali, a candidate from the All India Secular Front (AISF) in the Mothabari Assembly constituency in Malda district.
On Wednesday, seven judicial officers, including three women, were held hostage inside a block office in Kaliachak, Malda district, by a group of voters whose names had been deleted during the judicial adjudication process under the "logical discrepancy" category.
Around 1 a.m. on Thursday, a large police contingent led by senior district officials reached the scene, dispersed the protesters, rescued the judicial officers, and escorted them to a safe location. They had been surrounded for approximately nine hours. There were also reports that an attempt was made to attack the convoy while they were being moved to a safe location after their rescue.
