Politics has intensified regarding the siege and violence of judicial officers in Malda district of West Bengal. Senior CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim defended the incident, saying that when injustice becomes law, protest is the only way out.
Salim said that this incident is a result of the failures of the Central and State governments, especially the huge resentment among the people over the controversy of removing names from the voter list. According to him, when people’s civil and voting rights are affected, such movements become natural.
The situation worsened in Mothabadi area of Malda on Wednesday when the protesting mob blocked the road, vandalized and attacked the police. During this period, seven judicial officers were taken hostage in the BDO office, while one officer was kept in the vehicle for about nine hours.
More than 35 people arrested so far
More than 35 people have been arrested so far in this case. The responsibility of investigation has been entrusted to the CID as well as the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which became active after the instructions of the Supreme Court. Salim alleged that the administrative machinery and the Election Commission have failed to provide justice to the people. He said that when democratic institutions weaken, the government starts behaving like a police state, due to which public opposition is sure to increase.
He also claimed that the controversial voter list revision process (SIR) is a kind of campaign against the poor, minority and marginalized communities. According to Salim, names of people were removed without any apparent reason, which affected many sections of the society.