New Delhi [India], April 2 (ANI): Sukanta Majumdar, the Union Minister of State for Education and Development of North Eastern Region, condemned the crisis in Malda, where seven judicial officers were detained following protests over voter deletions under the ongoing SIR process.
Criticising the recent violence, Majumdar asserted that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s statements are responsible for the prevailing volatile situation on the ground.
In a self-recorded video, the Union Minister recounted the situation, alleging that the vehicles of the judicial officers were vandalised and one female officer was dragged from her car and beaten to death. He stressed that this on-ground situation in West Bengal is scary for everyone in the country.
“What happened is something that scares everyone. 7 judicial magistrates had gone there. They were not only stopped there but their vehicles were also vandalised. When SP was rescuing them from there, women judicial magistrates’ vehicles were vandalised. Roads were blocked to see that no vehicle passes through. During the rule of Left Front, Anita Dewan – a woman official, was dragged out of her vehicle and beaten to death. This was a similar plan. Mamata Banerjee’s continuous instigating statements are responsible for this,” said Majumdar.
Earlier, seven judicial officers, including three women, were held hostage by villagers in Malda district on Wednesday. The standoff was triggered by mass deletions from the electoral rolls under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The incident was part of a broader wave of protests that paralyzed Malda throughout the day, as demonstrators staged road blockades across national and state highways and key rural routes in at least five Assembly constituencies.
This development comes after TMC supporters launched an indefinite protest near the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office in Kolkata, alleging large-scale irregularities in the submission of Form 6 applications and demanding strict action against those involved.”
“The controversy stems from an incident in which Booth Level Officers (BLOs) claimed to have intercepted a BJP worker attempting to enter the CEO’s office with over 400 Form 6 applications. As Form 6 is used for the inclusion of names in the electoral rolls, the sheer volume of applications raised significant suspicions among TMC supporters.
Following the claim, TMC workers gathered outside the office in protest on Tuesday while BJP supporters also reached the spot, leading to a heated exchange that soon spiralled into violence.
Following the incident, authorities imposed Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to prevent further clashes between BJP and TMC workers outside the Election Commission office in Kolkata, a police officer said.
“Following yesterday’s incident, we have invoked Section 163 under the BNS here. We have significantly increased our deployment compared to before. The deployment of CAPF has also been increased. We have made extensive preparations to ensure that no untoward incident occurs here. We have all the necessary resources in place. Whatever the situation may be, we are fully prepared to handle it,’ DC Jagannathrao said. (ANI)