Kolkata, April 2 (NationPress) In a significant move, the Election Commission of India (ECI) transferred the investigation into the harassment of seven judicial adjudication officers in Kaliachak, located in the minority-heavy Malda district, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday evening.

Earlier in the day, a division bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Surya Kant, condemned the event, labeling it as a glaring indication of a total breakdown of law and order in West Bengal. The court instructed that the inquiry be conducted either by the CBI or the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

However, the final decision regarding the investigating agency was left to the ECI, which opted for the CBI. The CBI is anticipated to present its initial report to the Supreme Court by April 6.

The Supreme Court also issued notices to key officials, including West Bengal Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala, Director General of Police Sidh Nath Gupta, Home Secretary Sanghamitra Ghosh, and the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police of Malda, demanding clarification on why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.

On Wednesday, the seven judicial officers, three of whom were women, were held captive inside a block office in Kaliachak by a group of voters whose names had been removed during the judicial adjudication process due to “logical discrepancies.”

By approximately 1 a.m. on Thursday, a substantial police presence, led by senior district officials, arrived at the scene, dispersed the protestors, rescued the judicial officers, and ensured their safe passage to a secure location after they had been gheraoed for nearly nine hours.

Reports indicated that during their transfer to safety, there was an attempted attack on the convoy.

In the meantime, Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, along with BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya, suggested that the Kaliachak incident was orchestrated in advance.

“This is not merely local public outrage. It is a premeditated event. There is a deliberate attempt to create a divide between North and South Bengal. The demographics of border regions are undergoing changes, and there exists a conspiracy to occupy India without warfare. Areas such as Murshidabad and Malda are pivotal in this scheme. The circulation of counterfeit currency is increasing. Recently, militants from Lashkar were apprehended, who admitted to residing in West Bengal. Militant groups have exploited the COVID-19 period to establish modules in Cooch Behar, spreading throughout various locations in West Bengal,” Bhattacharya stated.