Tension gripped the Malda district of West Bengal on Wednesday (1st April) as a savage mob gheraoed seven judicial officers at the Block Development Officer (BDO) office in Kaliachak-II, a Muslim-dominated area. The judicial officers were overseeing the verification documents of voters whose names were marked “under adjudication” during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise conducted by the Election Commission of India in the poll-bound state. The outburst was linked to the deletion of the names of several infiltrators living in the area from supplementary voter lists released recently.
It is reported that some of the so-called protestors wanted to meet the judicial officers, but were not allowed. As a result, they held the judicial officers, including four women along with a five-year-old child of one of the officers, hostage for about nine hours. The judicial officers were left stranded in the BDO office without access to food and water.
District authorities, the Superintendent of Police and the Additional District Magistrate rushed to the spot around midnight to rescue the judicial officers by dispersing the mob, which had hijacked the law and order in the area. After the collective efforts of the central forces and the police, the judicial officers were rescued past midnight, but the mob did not calm down.
VIDEO | West Bengal: Protesters in Malda's Mothabari blocked seven Election Observers, demanding inclusion of names in the voter list. Central forces and police later rescued the observers and brought them to Malda city.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 1, 2026
(Full video available on PTI Videos -… pic.twitter.com/ZuTXHQ9z9f
As the judicial officers were being escorted, the mob tried to stop their vehicles by placing bamboo poles on the road and pelted stones and bricks at them. The so-called protestors also blocked the National Highway 12 (Kolkata-Siliguri National Highway) in Malda, disrupting connectivity between North and South Bengal.
AIMIM leader Mofakkerul Islam masterminded the Malda incident, arrested
Turns out that the Malda incident was not a benevolent demonstration by people enraged over the deletion of voter names in the SIR, but a pre-planned conspiracy to create unrest and panic ahead of the assembly polls. The Malda incident was reportedly orchestrated by a local advocate and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Mofakkerul Islam.
The night before the Malda incident, Islam led protests at Sujapur Hospital Crossing in Malda. He delivered a provocative speech during the protest, which is said to have resulted in an aggressive mob surrounding the judicial officers at the BDO office in Kaliachak-II.
#Exclusive: Mofakkerul Islam, Calcutta HC advocate and AIMIM candidate (2021), who instigated violence in Malda, has now been arrested pic.twitter.com/OxLK18OO5V
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) April 3, 2026
Mofakkerul Islam, who contested the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls from Itahar on the AIMIM ticket, was arrested by the West Bengal CID at Bagdogra Airport on Friday (3rd April) while trying to flee. An arrest warrant was issued against Islam the day before, on Thursday, at the direction of the Supreme Court.
#WATCH | West Bengal | Mofakkarul Islam, the alleged mastermind of Kaliachak incident in Malda, was detained by CID at Bagdogra airport
— ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2026
He says, "The protest will continue till the names of the deleted voters get included in the list…" https://t.co/O4mgtTpRqY pic.twitter.com/xAHhjDMvkn
Several videos of Mofakkerul Islam have been going viral on social media, where he can be seen making inflammatory statements using a loudspeaker and challenging the local administration and the central agencies, such as the Intelligence Bureau (IB), to come and get him. “Where are the DM, the SP, the CID and the IB? Where are they all? Come here,” Islam can be heard shouting. “It is a movement to save our sons and daughters. Once we are here, we won’t leave empty-handed,” Islam told the people gathered there. He called for the shedding of blood and shouted Allahu Akbar. “Fresh blood will be shed here. Nara e Takbeer, Allah hu Akbar,” Islam screamed.
#WestBengal
— Hindu Voice (@HinduVoice_in) April 2, 2026
Yesterday night, Muslims blocked the National Highway in #Sujapur of #Maldah district against the SIR.
The man who led the blockade is Mofakkerul Islam. Mofakkerul Islam is a lawyer of the Calcutta High Court.
Mofakkerul Islam gave a highly inciting speech there.… pic.twitter.com/dRuUTbP5qP
As per reports, Mofakkerul Islam practices in both the Raiganj District Court and the Calcutta High Court. His family, including his wife and children, reside in Kolkata. His mother, Fatema Bibi, lives in Itahar in the Uttar Dinajpur district. His mother denied knowing his whereabouts and said that he had visited once in the past five months. Islam had held a rally in the Muslim-dominated Itahar while contesting the 2021 assembly polls.
TMS leaders held protests at the BDO office before the Malda incident
Notably, before the Malda incident, several TMC leaders, led by Minister of State of North Bengal Development of West Bengal Sabina Yeasmin, sat on a protest in front of the BDO office in Kaliachak-II on Wednesday. The BJP has accused the ruling TMC of inciting people, plotting the attack on the judicial officers in Malda and the blocking of the national highway.
This video was shot yesterday (1st April) outside the Kaliachak BDO office in Malda.
— Facts (@BefittingFacts) April 2, 2026
TMC Minister Sabina Yeasmin is seen sitting in front of the BDO office, protesting against SIR and judicial officers.
Just a few hours later, the protest site turned violent. Judicial officers… pic.twitter.com/eNlYYUoqyx
Speaking to the media, Leader of Opposition in Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said that the Malda incident was plotted by the TMC top brass under the leadership of CM Mamata Banerjee. “What happened in Malda has crossed all limits. This is a planned attack to break the connection between north and south Bengal,” Adhikari said. He termed the Malda incident an “organised crime” and demanded the arrest of Sabina Yeasmin, calling her the “primary architect of implementation”.
"Malda unrest preplanned by TMC; strong action must be taken against miscreants."
— News Arena India (@NewsArenaIndia) April 2, 2026
– BJP's Suvendu Adhikari pic.twitter.com/H5i5oeHJFh
“Sabina Yeasmin, Minister of State of North Bengal Development of West Bengal, was given charge to orchestrate this attack. The entire plan was made by the TMC in Kolkata. This is an alarming situation. I demand that Yeasmin and others be arrested,” Adhikari said.
BJP president Shamik Bhattacharya said that a “demographic invasion” has been taking place in West Bengal, and fake currency was being distributed. He added that the judiciary is being targeted in the state. “We don’t have any issues with Indian Muslims. Wednesday’s incident was a planned attempt to incite riots. The lower judiciary is under threat. We are the only political party that has said infiltration must be stopped. Only Indians should be on the electoral roll,” Bhattacharya said.
Meanwhile, Sabina Yeasmin distanced herself and the TMC from the Malda incident and said that she did not support the violation of law and order in the state. After staging protests against the judicial officers, Yeasmin took a U-turn and said that the judicial officers are guests and that they should be allowed to do their work.
Malda, West Bengal: On Malda SIR Row, TMC Candidate from the Sujapur assembly constituency, Sabina Yeasmin says, "… The issue that had happened is not right, the judicial matters and the judge are guest for us, they should be allowed to do their work. Whatever the judgment the… pic.twitter.com/CfWUoFrgnN
— IANS (@ians_india) April 2, 2026
While the AIMIM and the TMC appear to be contesting against each other in the upcoming assembly elections, the presence of their leaders and their common grievance against the Election Commission officials has fanned the speculations of a tacit political understanding.
The investigation into the Malda incident has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) by the Election Commission. So far, 19 people have been arrested in connection with the case.
