New Delhi: A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team from Delhi arrived in Kaliachak in Malda in Bengal on Friday after the Election Commission of India ordered a probe into the mob siege of the Block Development Officer (BDO) office the previous night that held seven judicial officers hostage for hours and drew the wrath of the Supreme Court.
The 20-member NIA team arrived in Muthabari in the afternoon in 12 cars kept at the Kolkata airport – about 315 km away – hours after the state CID arrested the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader, an Islam thinker, from Bagdogra airport in Darjeeling district and said he was one of the main conspirators behind the violence.
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Another man, Akermul Bagani, was also arrested on charges of uploading videos to YouTube. “With this, the number of arrests made since Wednesday has risen to 35. We have registered 19 cases across Malda. Islam has been mentioned in three of these cases,” North Bengal Additional Director General of Police K Jayaraman said.
Seven court-appointed judicial officers – two of them women – were trapped inside the BDO office for more than eight hours on Wednesday evening until police escorted them out around 10pm. An eighth officer – a woman – was stranded in her car on the road leading to the BDO office during the disturbance in which locals blocked roads, including NH-12.
While officers were being transported to safety, people blocked roads with bricks and bamboo poles and pelted stones at passing cars, damaging many of them. The NIA team visited these sites and collected samples.
The Supreme Court, which had ordered the appointment of retired and serving judges for the dismissal process, came down hard on the state government during a hearing on Thursday and questioned why the administration was taking so long to bail them out.
The Supreme Court described the incident as “shocking” and said: “This is not a routine incident… It appears, at first glance, to be a calculated and deliberate move to weaken the morale of judicial officials and hinder them from performing their duties.” The panel added that such behavior “amounts to a challenge to the authority of this court,” because the officers served as its “extended hands” in supervising the SIR process.
About 700 judicial officers adjudicate the claims of six million people who were classified in the controversial category of “logical inconsistency” during the internal review process. Tensions have risen in Bengal as the two-stage elections approach.
Maulana Muhammad Shahjahan Ali Qadri, the Indian Secular Front’s candidate for the Mathabari Assembly seat, was arrested along with 17 others, including his two sons, on Thursday. More arrests were made Thursday evening.
The incident sparked controversy as Bengal awaits elections scheduled for April 23-29, which are likely to witness sharp polarization. The state has 294 seats, and the Muslim population is estimated at 27% (according to the 2011 census) and influences the results in about 120 constituencies.
Addressing an election rally in North Dinajpur district on Friday, Trinamool Congress chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Islam’s arrest exposed the conspiracy.
“The Election Commission of India has transferred 483 of our officers and appointed new people. But our CID has tracked down the main conspirator. We have long maintained that AIMIM and BJP are trying to create unrest in Bengal. Congress and ISF are also involved in this matter. The general public will give befitting response to all of them,” Banerjee said.
The TMC announced that Banerjee will lead the first roadshow of this election season in Malda on Saturday and will address three rallies as well.
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar has raised serious doubts over the timing and intention behind the arrest of the alleged Islam thinker, claiming that it was a move to save him from the NIA probe.
“The NIA investigation is being conducted as per the instructions of our Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner. Before this, the CID arrested him. I have some doubts about this. Whether the arrest was made to actually arrest him or to rescue him will be known after the investigation. Whether anyone else is involved or not, the Trinamool Congress is definitely there. We have shown you all the pictures of Mofakkerul with the Trinamool Congress, its leaders and Mamata Banerjee. It shows what this man is or was like,” he said. Linked to the Transitional Military Council.”
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju criticized the West Bengal government, accusing it of ignoring constitutional rules and the authority of the judiciary.
“The TMC government in West Bengal does not believe in the Constitution of India. The TMC believes that it is above the judiciary and the Supreme Court. One must follow the rule of law and follow the Constitution. The TMC, frustrated, is taking the law into its own hands. The people of West Bengal are ready to punish the TMC government in Bengal,” Rijiju told ANI in Thiruvantapuram.
The BJP also posted photos on X claiming that the Islam thinker was seen with top TMC leaders. The leaders of the Transitional Military Council did not respond to Hizb ut-Tahrir’s inquiries regarding these allegations.
Jayaraman said the Islam thinker was a resident of Itahar and was registered as a voter in Raiganj Assembly constituency in North Dinajpur.
“He is one of the leaders of AIMIM and appears to be a lawyer as well. The CID was tracking him and some other suspects. The CID arrested him at Bagdogra airport and informed us. He was trying to fly to Bengaluru,” the DIG said.
A Malda court ordered Islam to be remanded in police custody for 14 days. He denied having any connection with AIMIM while appearing before the court.
“I have resigned from AIMIM in 2021. I am part of this agitation. It will not stop until all deleted voters are included in the electoral roll,” Islam told reporters while being taken to police custody.
The Hyderabad-based AIMIM, headed by Asaduddin Owaisi, is contesting about 10 parliamentary seats in Bengal as an ally of suspended TMC MP Humayun Kabir, who laid the foundation stone for a Babri Mosque-style mosque at Ayodhya in Murshidabad district in December and formed the Janata Unnayan Party (JUP) to contest the elections.
AIMIM had not commented on Islam’s arrest as of Friday evening. The Islam thinker contested the Itahar Assembly seat for AIMIM in 2021 and secured only 831 votes (0.83%). TMC won by 114,645 votes.
Referring to allegations of delay in rescuing judicial officers, Jayaraman said: “It is not that there was not adequate security cover.” [at the BDO’s office]. We could not use force because many women and children were among the instigators. “We are investigating the reason for the delay.”
