‘Complete breakdown of law & order in Bengal’: SC after judicial officers were held hostage for hours over SIR deletion | India News
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday took serious notice of the Malda incident where seven judicial officers engaged in Special Intensive Corrections (SIR) exercise were held hostage for several hours. The court issued show-cause notices to top officials of West Bengal, including the Chief Secretary and DGP.The strong reaction came after reports that officers, including three women, had detained a group of voters in Malda whose names had been deleted from the voter list.The court asked the chief secretary and the DGP to explain why action should not be taken against them, terming the incident as “dereliction of duty” and sought reasons for their “inaction”.Terming the episode “sad”, the apex court said the protest appeared to be a “calculated and deliberate” attempt to demoralize judicial officials and disrupt the ongoing electoral process. It added that it will not allow anyone to interfere in the process or take law into its own hands to launch psychological attacks on officials.The court observed that it was imperative for the Mamata Banerjee-led state government to inform the Election Commission and deploy central forces to ensure security of judicial officers. It allowed the Election Commission to conduct a CBI or NIA probe into the incident.Citing the “total breakdown of law and order” in the state, the court ordered that central forces be deployed to protect officers handling objections under the SIR process.The Supreme Court also appealed to the leaders of the political parties not to politicize the issue and speak with one voice to ensure the safety of the officers performing their duties. It emphasized that those responsible for maintaining law and order should be more vigilant.
What happened in Malda
The incident took place during the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll. Seven judicial officials, including three women, were surrounded by protesters for several hours.The protest started outside the Kaliachak 2 Block Development Office when people demanded a meeting with the officers, officials said. After being denied entry, the mob started protesting around 4 pm and later blockaded the premises till late night.Protests erupted over deletion of names from voter lists and spread across Malda, with road blockades reported in multiple areas, affecting normal life.
BJP’s response
Union minister and BJP leader Sukant Majumdar condemned the incident and attributed the situation to the Chief Minister’s statement Mamata Banerjee.In a video message, he alleged that officers’ cars were vandalized and roads were blocked during the incident. He also said that the situation in West Bengal is alarming.“What happened was something that horrified everyone. 7 Judicial Magistrates went there. Not only did they stop there, their cars were also vandalized. When the SP was rescuing them from there, the women judicial magistrates’ cars were vandalized. Roads were blocked to see that no vehicles were passing. During the Left Front regime, a woman officer-a Devfront official and a woman judicial magistrate got out of the car. Beaten to death. It was a similar plan. Mamata Banerjee’s constant provocative statements are responsible for this,” said Majumder.
