Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan fiercely targeted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the siege of seven judicial officers in Malda district of West Bengal. He wrote in the post on X that the Malda incident is no exception, it is a symptom of the complete collapse of the system under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress.
He said that seven judicial officers were held hostage for more than nine hours and were not even given food and water. This shows the complete collapse of state power. Add to this the violence in Malda-Murshidabad (displacement of Hindu families and the brutal murder of Hargobindo and Chandan Das).
All this has happened under the state-controlled administrative machinery. Even before the Supreme Court, it was postponed saying 'not political', but after a few hours politics was dragged into it. West Bengal is keeping an eye on this and the end of the fear mongering politics being spread by TMC goons is near.
The incident took place during the SIR exercise in Kaliachak area of Malda district when anti-social elements surrounded seven judicial officers at a Block Development Officer (BDO) office on Wednesday. Officials said that around midnight the security forces freed the judicial officers who were surrounded.
Following the instructions of the Supreme Court, the Election Commission on Thursday handed over the investigation into the siege of seven judicial officers in Malda district of West Bengal to the NIA. An Election Commission spokesperson in Delhi said that an NIA team would be present in the state on Friday.
Describing West Bengal as the most polarized state, the Supreme Court expressed strong displeasure over the complete failure and inaction of the administration on the gherao and attack of judicial officers in Malda district during the Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls (SIR) drive and directed for a probe by CBI or NIA.
In a letter written to the NIA on April 2, the Election Commission cited the court order and directed it to investigate Wednesday's incident. Strongly condemning the gherao incident, the court said that the incident also exposed the complete failure of the state administration and was not only a brazen attempt to intimidate the judicial officers but also amounted to challenging the authority of the apex court.
Elections will be held in West Bengal in two phases on 23 and 29 April. The incident took place during the SIR exercise in Kaliachak area of Malda district when anti-social elements surrounded seven judicial officers at a Block Development Officer (BDO) office at 3.30 pm on Wednesday. Officials said that around midnight on Wednesday, the security forces freed the judicial officers who were surrounded.
