Seven judicial officers engaged in adjudication of logical discrepancy cases of over 60 lakh voters in poll-bound West Bengal were held inside a BDO office in the Kaliachowk area of Malda district on Wednesday evening, as residents gheraoed it from outside. Among the seven judicial officials, three are women, said sources.
After eight hours, a team of police rescued them. While they were being taken away in a police van, the mob pelted stones. Sources said no one was injured.
People protesting the deletion of names from the voters’ list, meanwhile, blocked National Highway 12 at multiple crossings.
This comes amid the release of supplementary voters’ lists by the Election Commission (EC) following the ongoing adjudication of over 60 lakh electors whose names were put under scrutiny during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The EC has not disclosed the number of names deleted from the electoral roll during the ongoing adjudication process. Till Wednesday evening, the EC said, 49 lakh adjudication cases have been disposed of.
According to sources, the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) took up the matter with DGP Siddh Nath Gupta, who instructed the Malda Superintendent of Police to take immediate action.
People squat on roads in Mohabbotpur in Mothabari Assembly segment of Malda district on Wednesday night. (Express photo by Partha Paul)
CEO Manoj Agarwal has also sought a report from the Malda district administration on the situation at Kaliachowk-II BDO office.
“I am busy with a law and order situation. I can’t talk right now,” Malda Superintendent of Police Anupam Singh said when The Indian Express called him.
According to police, the seven judicial officers had reached the Kaliachowk-II BDO office around 11 am on Wednesday for the adjudication exercise.
“When they were coming out of the office at 4 pm, they saw a large number of protesting villagers squatting at the gate of the office. The villagers complained about the deletion of voters’ names and told the judicial officials that they will not allow them to leave the office till their problems are resolved,” said a police officer.
According to the Malda district administration, the protests began in the Sujapur area on Wednesday morning and quickly spread to Jalalpur, Mothabari, Jodupur, and Kaliachowk.
People blocked the roads, including NH, with bamboo, broken glass bottles, furniture, and other items. People were seen burning tyres, setting up mud stoves on the roads to cook khichdi as dinner for protesters.
At Salehpur crossing on NH-12 in Kaliachowk area, Mushtaq Rehman said, “We are forced to block the road because a large number of voters have been deleted from the electoral list. Secondly, the appellate tribunals are yet to start functioning. What will we do?”
The Supreme Court had earlier ordered the EC to set up 19 tribunals in the state where people, whose names have been deleted from the voters’ list, could appeal for a remedy.
People were seen burning tyres, setting up mud stoves on the roads to cook khichdi as dinner for protesters. (Express photo by Partha Paul)
According to the residents, more than one lakh names have been deleted from the voters’ list in the area.
Mortaja Ali, a resident of Mohabbatpur of Mothabari Assembly constituency, said, “In our booth, almost 80 per cent of names under adjudication have been deleted. Those who had submitted genuine documents have also had their names deleted from the electoral roll.”
“We have no clue about the tribunals and when they will start functioning. In Malda, the district administration is yet to announce the setting up of the tribunal. In this situation, what else can we do? That is why we came out on the streets to protest,” he added.
Abbas Ali Sheikh, another resident of Mothabari, said that they want the issue to be resolved before the elections are held in the state.
Elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases – on April 23 and April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.
Meanwhile, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “The Election Commission changed almost all administrative and police officers. Everything has been done by the Election Commission. We don’t want any unwanted situation to happen. The Election Commission has to take necessary action.”
State BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya blamed the TMC. “There is utter lawlessness under the TMC regime. There are pockets that have turned into a haven for such activities. It is shameful that even judicial officers are being gheraoed,” he said.
