Kolkata: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been formally asked to investigate the siege of judicial officers in Bengal’s Malda, in an incident which marked an obvious escalation of tensions surrounding the special intensive revision of electoral rolls ahead of the assembly polls.The move came after the Supreme Court issued a sharply worded order in its suo motu writ petition condemning the episode, which took place near the Mothabari BDO office in the Kaliachak area, as a direct assault on judicial authority.In the March 1 standoff, seven judicial officers, three of whom were women, were trapped inside the BDO office for more than seven hours. These officers had been hearing cases related to disputed voters during the SIR exercise.Acting on the court’s directions, the Election Commission of India (ECI) wrote to the NIA director general on April 2, seeking a probe into the gherao of officers.In Mothabari, 79,683 people were “under adjudication” in the final list, a status which effectively puts them in limbo as voters and requires a judicial officer to adjudicate on their validity as voters. According to reports, in one polling station alone, the names of 578 people, including Nazrul Islam, the Trinamool Congress candidate from Motahari, were placed “under adjudication.” When the supplementary list came out, voters saw that only Islam’s name was cleared as a voter, while the remaining 577 people continued to be marked “under adjudication,” further fuelling public anger.What began as local resentment over deletions in the electoral rolls soon escalated into a prolonged blockade. Protesters locked the gates of the BDO office, blocked the National Highway 12, burned tyres and erected bamboo barricades. Police and central forces later mounted a late-night rescue operation. The episode has since spiralled into a political and constitutional confrontation, with rival parties and activists offering sharply different accounts of what happened and why.Also read: Special Integrated Removal: Data Shows Large-Scale Deletion of Women and Minorities in West Bengal SIRPolitical falloutThe political fallout widened after the court’s hearing. During the proceedings, the bench had orally observed that law and order in Bengal had “collapsed”, although that remark was later omitted from the written order. Even so, the observation appeared to deepen Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s apprehension that the episode could be used to build a case for President’s rule in the state.“The Election Commission has deleted 1.20 crore names. The game plan of the BJP is to impose President’s rule in the state. Do not fall into the trap, do not obstruct judges,” Banerjee said while addressing a campaign rally in Murshidabad. “Everything was ruined by that one incident. I don’t know who did this, but it was definitely planned.”Calling it an unprecedented development in independent India, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, “Mamata Banerjee, who took an oath under the Constitution to uphold and protect the rule of law, is facilitating the hostage-taking of the very judicial officers who are complying with the Supreme Court’s orders and carrying out the SIR process.”Social activists and independent voices, however, placed the incident within a broader context of disenfranchisement, communal anxiety and democratic breakdown.“These judges sat at the BDO office and, after checking papers, removed the names of thousands, even lakhs of Muslims. While some Hindu names were removed, it was only about 1-2%. 95% to 99% of those whose names were cut are Muslims,” alleged local activist Kamirul Haque. “I come from Sujapur in Mothabari, and right across the Ganges is Samserganj – these are Muslim-majority areas. In some booths, names of 90% of the people have been removed. This is a farce.”“The allegation that valid voters have had their names cancelled is true. But neither the ECI nor the Indian judicial system has been able to reassure these voters whether they can vote in the upcoming election. In fact, people’s frustration has only increased following a comment by the Chief Justice of India, who seems to have suggested that missing one year of voting wouldn’t be a major loss,” said Asif Faurk, a migrant workers’ rights activist.The unrest in Malda led to an emergency review meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, where senior state officials were reportedly reprimanded for their handling of the situation. The Supreme Court separately expressed “extreme disappointment” that the Chief Secretary could not be contacted because he had not shared a mobile number with WhatsApp access for emergency communication.Police have so far arrested more than 30 people in connection with the violence, including India Secular Front candidate Maulana Shahjahan Ali. The crackdown has also widened with the arrest of Mofakkherul Islam, whom the ECI described as the alleged “mastermind” behind the road blockades, protests and detention of judicial officers in Kaliachak. Islam was arrested at Bagdogra Airport this morning, after an arrest warrant had been issued and police searches carried out at multiple locations.Mofakkherul Islam, second right, alleged mastermind of the Kaliachak incident, was nabbed before boarding a flight to flee, according to the officials, near Bagdogra Airport, Siliguri, Friday, April 3, 2026. Photo: PTI.Mofakkherul Islam, a resident of Porsa Hatkhola in Itahar and a former lawyer who practised at the Raiganj district court and later the Calcutta high court, has now emerged as a politically contentious figure in the case. Before the 2021 assembly elections, he joined All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and contested the polls, but received only 831 votes. Local accounts have also linked him to last year’s Waqf agitation in Shamsherganj, which later spiralled into a riot in which Harogobinda Das, Chandan Das and Sheikh Ismail were killed. Even as many people were detained in that case, Islam had remained outside custody until now.Notices to bureaucrats and top copsMeanwhile, the Supreme Court has issued show-cause notices to the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, and Malda’s District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police, directing them to remain virtually present at the next hearing on April 6, 2026. The Chief Election Commissioner has also warned that “Malda-like incidents will not be tolerated anywhere else. If they occur, direct action will be taken.”The ECI has also ordered the immediate deployment of central forces at all SIR adjudication venues and mandated that no more than five people be present at any hearing site.The anger and fallout surrounding the Mothabari episode stem from more than the final stages of the SIR and the possibility of name removal.For many in the affected minority belts, the SIR controversy has come to symbolise a deeper sense of political betrayal. Opposition leaders from Congress and the Left have long argued that Banerjee as chief minister has failed to assuage them, despite earlier promising to fight for them, even as minorities emerged as the principal targets. That perception has sharpened the frustration of people who fear losing voting rights despite possessing valid documents.The resentment is also tied to a broader critique that while Muslim voters remain central to the TMC’s electoral base, their socio-economic conditions, marked by migration, school dropouts and insecurity of livelihood, have seen little meaningful improvement. There is also a pre-election communal polarisation at play – created and capitalised upon by the BJP – which has created a climate of fear in Muslim-majority areas, narrowing political choice and reinforcing dependence on the ruling party as a defensive vote against the BJP. The anger has been aggravated by the tribunal structure as well. With all 22 SIR benches set to function in Kolkata, poor residents from Malda and Murshidabad face a process that is costly, distant and intimidating. A report on Indian Express also notes how there was “no sign” of a tribunal on promised Day 1 of hearings with the Bengal CEO saying he cannot say when it will start.The result is that the Mothabari unrest is now being seen not only as an administrative flashpoint, but as an expression of a wider crisis of trust in the state’s ability to protect both minority rights and electoral fairness.