Police arrested 18 people, including Maulana Muhammad Shahjahan Ali Qadri, the Indian Secular Front (ISF) candidate from the Mothabari assembly seat, in connection with a violent mob agitation that held seven judicial officers hostage for eight hours in West Bengal's Malda.
The agitators, who were mostly Muslims, blocked roads and pelted stones at vehicles carrying the judicial officers to safety. The mob started gathering from 11 am but their numbers swelled 4 pm onwards.
Seven judicial officers, two of whom were women, were trapped inside the office of the Mothabari 2 block development officer from 4 pm to 10 pm, until police escorted them out. An eighth officer, a woman, was stranded in her car on the road to the BDO's office.
The arrested individuals, including Qadri's two sons, were remanded in police custody for 10 days by the Malda district court. Qadri claimed that he was framed and not involved in the agitation.
The controversy over the deletion of names under the special intensive revision (SIR) has sparked fresh protests across four districts in West Bengal, including Malda, Murshidabad, Jalpaiguri, and Cooch Behar.
