‘Attempt to demoralize’, Supreme Court strict over hostage-taking of seven officers engaged in SIR work in Bengal

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The Supreme Court of India has expressed serious concern over an incident in West Bengal’s Malda district, where seven judicial officers were held hostage for nearly nine hours during a dispute over voter list revisions. The court termed the act “highly condemnable” and an attempt to demoralize officials performing election-related duties.

According to reports, the incident took place in the Kaliachak area of Malda, where officials engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process were surrounded by protesters. Among those held were three women officers. They were reportedly detained from afternoon until late night.

A large team of police and paramilitary forces reached the spot around 1 AM and safely rescued all the officers. The unrest was triggered after several names were allegedly removed from the voter list, leading to strong local protests.

The officials were working to complete voter list revisions ahead of the upcoming elections in the state, scheduled for April 23 and 29. During the rescue operation, protesters allegedly attempted to attack police vehicles, with visuals showing broken windows and incidents of stone pelting.

Following the incident, the Election Commission of India has sought a detailed report from the West Bengal Director General of Police.

Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar alleged that the incident was a result of provocative statements by the ruling party, stating that while the SIR process is being conducted across the country, such resistance has only been seen in West Bengal.

Meanwhile, Kunal Ghosh of the Trinamool Congress said that his party does not support taking the law into one’s own hands. He added that the responsibility lies with the Election Commission and that the party is only carrying out peaceful protests against the removal of names from the voter list.