Kolkata, April 2 (IANS) A fresh protest has started in Malda since Thursday morning, this time in Mangalbari area of old Malda block. The protesters stated that many of their names have been removed from the voter list despite having valid documents.
After being opened for a few hours at night, National Highway No. 12 was blocked again on Thursday. Tyres were set on fire and the road was barricaded with bamboo by the protestors.
Police teams from Malda police station and CAPF jawans have been deployed at the blockade site to keep a check on the situation.
Protests are being held in old Malda block today for the same demand that was made in the Kaliachak protest on Wednesday. The protesters say they are agitating against their names being removed from the voter list despite having all proper documents.
People in different areas of Malda were agitated since Wednesday morning over the deletion of their names. The National Highway was blocked for a long time and Judicial Officers were also surrounded. Later, they were released late in the night.
The crowd that had gathered in Kaliachal in Malda on Wednesday night was not seen there since morning. People have also started coming out on the streets since morning. However, the suppressed tension still remains.
Since Thursday morning, police pickets have been set up at various places in the areas where protests took place at night. Police pickets have been set up at various places on National Highway No. 12 and Malda-Mothabari State Highway.
The police presence in the area has been noticeable since morning. According to the police, the Intelligence branch has also been asked to be vigilant.
It may be noted that Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee is holding an election rally in Baishnabnagar in Malda district today. Before that, a new protest has started in the old Malda block.
It may be noted that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has sought a report from the Director General of West Bengal Police on the incident of seven Judicial Officers, including three women, who were involved in the ongoing judicial adjudication of voters classified under the “logical discrepancy” category, being gheraoed and held hostage at Kaliachak in Malda district by a group of voters whose names had been deleted in the process.
The seven officials were taken hostage on Wednesday. However, finally, at around 1 A.M. Thursday, a huge police contingent led by senior officials of the district police arrived at the spot, removed the protesters, rescued the Judicial Officers, and escorted them out to a safe location. They were rescued after remaining gheraoed for around nine hours.
There had been reports from the district that even while being shifted to a safe location after being rescued, there was an attempt to attack the convoy.
While the judicial officers were being held hostage, another group of protesters blocked the National Highways adjacent to Block-I of Kaliachak under the Sujapur Assembly constituency in Malda district. Finally, the administration was able to persuade the protesters to lift the blockade after convincing them that there would be an attempt to re-include the deleted names in the voters’ list at the earliest.
–IANS
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