Kolkata, April 2 The Election Commission of India (ECI) handed over the investigation into the harassment of seven judicial officers in Kaliachak, in the minority-dominated district of Malda, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday evening.
Earlier in the day, a division bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Surya Kant, strongly condemned the incident, describing it as evidence of a complete failure of law and order in West Bengal, and directed that the matter be investigated by either the CBI or the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
However, the apex court left the final decision to the ECI on whether to entrust the investigation to the CBI or the NIA. The ECI subsequently chose the CBI to investigate the matter. The CBI is expected to submit its preliminary report to the Supreme Court on April 6.
The apex court also issued notices to West Bengal Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala, Director General of Police Sidh Nath Gupta, Home Secretary Sanghamitra Ghosh, and the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police of Malda, asking them to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.
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 process of judicial adjudication under the "logical discrepancy" category.
Around 1 a.m. on Thursday, a large police contingent led by senior district officials reached the spot, dispersed the protesters, rescued the judicial officers, and escorted them to a safe location. They had been surrounded for about nine hours.
There were also reports that even while being shifted to a safe location after their rescue, an attempt was made to attack the convoy.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya alleged that the Kaliachak incident was pre-planned.
"This is not a public outrage by local people. This is a pre-planned event. An attempt is being made to separate North Bengal from South Bengal. The demographics of the border areas are changing. There is a conspiracy to occupy India without a war. Murshidabad and Malda are being used as epicentres. Fake notes are being spread. Recently, Lashkar militants were arrested who admitted to staying in West Bengal. During the COVID-19 period, militant groups have set up modules in Cooch Behar. They have been spread in various parts of West Bengal," Bhattacharya said.
