Kolkata, April 6 Malda's Additional District Magistrate (Law and Order), Shaikh Ansar Ahamad, received two show cause notices regarding allegations of unauthorized remarks made during the ongoing SIR exercise and a security lapse during the gherao of judicial officers in Kaliachak on March 31, officials said on Monday.
The notices were served on Ahamad by District Magistrate Rajanvir Singh Kapur, asking him to respond within seven days.
Ahamad was assigned law and order duty on March 31, according to one of the notices.
Subsequently, the administration, through social media and other sources, came to know that while performing his duty, he addressed the people who were gheraoing the judicial officers and expressed concerns about the SIR exercise without prior authorization, the notice said.
During the address, he made certain commitments to the public without the knowledge or approval of higher authorities, which may exceed the scope of authority vested in his office, it added.
He publicly indicated that he would endeavor to have the date of the SIR adjudication extended, a matter under the purview of the Election Commission and subject to the directions of the Supreme Court, it further stated.
Such statements, even if made with good intentions, may have created unwarranted expectations among the public and may not be consistent with the role assigned to him, the notice said.
Seven judicial officers, including three women, were held captive by a mob for over nine hours without food or water at the BDO office in Kaliachak on March 31. Even after they were rescued, the judicial officers' vehicles were pelted with stones and attacked with sticks and bricks.
As many as 700 judicial officers from West Bengal, Odisha, and Jharkhand are deployed in the ongoing SIR (Special Intensive Revision) process to address over 60 lakh objections from those excluded from the voter lists.
Meanwhile, the inspector-in-charge of the Naihati police station in North 24 Parganas district was suspended for allegedly taking Naihati Municipality chairperson Ashok Chatterjee to the SDO office during the nomination process of the TMC candidate, officials said.
"Police officers have been directed to maintain strict neutrality during the election process. Any deviation from these instructions is viewed seriously," an official said.
He said the conduct of the officer amounted to a violation of the guidelines, barring police personnel from extending any assistance to political leaders during nominations.
Further action would be taken after a detailed report is examined, he added.
BJP leader Arjun Singh shared a video of Chatterjee getting down from a police vehicle at the SDO office in Barrackpore to attend the nomination process of TMC's Naihati candidate Sanat Dey.