NIA files 4 charge sheets in Malda SIR violence case

India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed four charge sheets against 31 people accused of holding judicial officers hostage during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in West Bengal's Malda district earlier this year. Officials confirmed the filings, which detail the alleged illegal detention of judicial officers and road blockades.

The accused face charges under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, the National Highways Act, 1956, and the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (WBMPO) Act, 1972. The charge sheets specifically outline the roles played by each individual in the alleged offenses.

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The NIA has filed charge sheets in four separate cases in connection with the illegal detention of judicial officers and road blockades in Malda during SIR.

The incident occurred on April 1, when seven judicial officers, appointed by the Calcutta High Court for the SIR adjudication process, were surrounded by a mob in Kaliachak, Malda. The mob was protesting the deletion of names from the electoral roll, and the officers' vehicles were attacked. Following a Supreme Court directive, the Election Commission of India handed over the investigation to the NIA.

Last week, the NIA arrested 15 people in two separate cases related to the April 1 incident. To date, over 60 individuals have been arrested in connection with the violence. The NIA had registered at least 12 First Information Reports (FIRs) concerning the events, with five filed at the Kaliachak police station and seven at the Mothabari police station.

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Specific roles played by each of the accused have been detailed in the charge sheets, which establish their involvement in the road blockades and illegal detention and restraint of judicial officers engaged in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls at various locations in Malda district.