New Delhi: A day after the Supreme Court rebuked the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government over the protests in Malda district over the deletion of names of voters in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the “mastermind” of the incident was arrested on Friday. S Mofakkarul Islam, an AIMIM leader and advocate, was arrested by the West Bengal police at Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri while he was allegedly trying to flee, said officials.
On Wednesday, a group of locals gheraoed and held hostage seven judicial officials, including three women, for over 9 hours over the deletion of their names from the voter list during the SIR. The locals allegedly surrounded judicial officers outside the Kaliachak 2 Block Development Office around 3.30 pm and prevented them from leaving the premises till 12 am. The officials’ vehicles were also allegedly pelted with stones.
SC’s rap to Mamata govt
The Supreme Court on Thursday deplored the incident and came down heavily upon the West Bengal government and state police, calling the hostage situation a “calculated conspiracy” aimed at demoralising judicial officers and stalling the ongoing electoral process.
“This incident constitutes not only a despicable attempt to intimidate judicial officers but also poses a direct challenge to the authority of this Court. This was no ordinary incident; rather, it appears to be a calculated and motivated move aimed at demoralising judicial officers and stalling the ongoing process of disposing of objections regarding pending SIR cases,” a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Panchol said.