Seven officers were confined at Kaliachak-II till midnight as demonstrators erected barricades, blocked national highways, and clashed with journalists in one of West Bengal’s most politically sensitive districts.
By NIRENDRA DEV
Kolkata, April 2, 2026 — Seven judicial officers remained physically confined inside the Block Development Office at Kaliachak-II in Malda district until midnight on Wednesday, as large-scale protests over the deletion of voter names from electoral rolls paralysed roads and disrupted movement across the district.
All seven judicial officers have been safely evacuated. Communications from those on the ground described a deteriorating situation through the evening. Following instructions from the District Judge, the officers stayed together and avoided individual movement to minimise risk. Demonstrators had effectively gheraoed — surrounded and blocked — the office, preventing their exit for hours.
In Englishbazar, over 500 residents of Amrity gram panchayat erected a bamboo barricade on the Malda-Manikchak state highway around 9.30am, disrupting traffic until late afternoon. A separate protest at Chandipur blocked the road connecting Malda town and Sattari for nearly two hours.
In Sujapur, around 1,000 residents blocked NH12, carrying the Tricolour and demanding restoration of their names to the voter list. Similar blockades were staged along NH12 at Baishnabanagar, Mothabari, and Manikchak.
Sabina Yeasmin, the Trinamool Congress candidate from Sujapur, met protesters at the Kaliachak-I block office.
In South 24-Parganas, residents of Brickfield in Hasnabad block — part of the Hingalganj Assembly constituency — staged a road blockade after 142 voters found their names deleted from the rolls. Residents of Kodalia, under the Basirhat South Assembly seat, blocked the Taki Road after nearly 500 voters suffered the same outcome.
Two journalists, including Somak Lahiri of ABP Ananda, were allegedly assaulted by protesters during the demonstrations.
BJP leader Amit Malviya called the events “unprecedented developments in West Bengal.” “There was an urgent need for immediate intervention by the district and police administration. Adequate security reinforcements had to be deployed to ensure the safe evacuation of all officers. Law and order cannot be allowed to collapse like this,” he said.
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