Judicial Officers Held Hostage For 8 Hours; Here’s How Kaliachak Anti-SIR Protest Spread Across Malda Overnight

From highway blockades to taking judicial officers hostage, the SIR deletion protest in Kaliachak spiralled into a tense, late-night crisis. What started as a local protest over voter list revisions via SIR 2026 soon snowballed into one of the most dramatic political flashpoints in poll-bound West Bengal.

In Malda’s Kaliachak area, seven judicial officers (three of them women), assigned to review voter list discrepancies under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), were surrounded and confined inside the Kaliachak-II Block Development Office for nearly eight hours on Wednesday. Outside, a growing crowd of protesters had surrounded the premises, angry over the alleged deletion of names from electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

According to the officials, the trouble began when a group of protesters gathered outside the BDO office, seeking a meeting with the judicial team. When they were not allowed in, the mood shifted. Around 4 pm, the demonstration intensified. Within hours, the office was gheraod and its entry and exit points were blocked. The situation only worsened at night.

Roads Blocked, Malda Comes To A Halt

Across Malda district, that has 52 per cent Muslim population, protesters took to the streets, blocking national highways, state roads, and key rural routes. NH-12, a crucial artery connecting North and South Bengal, was choked for hours, effectively cutting off movement between regions.

In Sujapur alone, more than 1,000 people gathered on the highway, waving the Tricolour and demanding their names be restored to the voter list. Elsewhere, bamboo barricades came up and traffic was stalled. From Baishnabanagar to Manikchak, the unrest spread across at least five Assembly constituencies. Even as police and central forces moved in to clear blockades by evening, protesters made it clear: this was not over.

Inside The BDO Office: Hours Of Uncertainty For Officials

While chaos unfolded outside, the situation inside the Kaliachak-II BDO office was tense and uncertain. The seven judicial officers, tasked with examining voter list discrepancies affecting over 60 lakh voters, were effectively confined as the crowd blocked all exits. With all roads sealed, any attempt to leave was nothing but risky.

Following instructions from the District Judge, the officers stayed together to minimise danger. Communication from the ground described the situation as ‘highly volatile’, with urgent calls for administrative and police intervention with additional security.

However, for nearly next eight hours, the situation remained a deadlock.

Big Political Drama In Bengal | Officers Gheraoed: All We Know So Far

1. Seven judicial officers were gheraoed inside the Kaliachak-II BDO office in Malda
2. Three of the officers trapped were women
3. The protest was triggered by alleged large-scale deletions from electoral rolls under the SIR process
4. Protesters gathered and went violent after being denied a meeting and escalated the protest around 4 PM
5. The officers remained confined for nearly eight hours
6. Major roads, including NH-12, were blocked across multiple constituencies
7. Vehicles were vandalised, and stone-pelting was reported during the rescue
8. Police eventually evacuated all officers safely late at night; no injuries were reported

Union Minister of State for Education and Development of North Eastern Region Sukanta Majumdar called the situation ‘scary’ and blamed what he described as ‘provocative statements’ by TMC and its supremo Mamata Banerjee for the unrest. He also alleged that vehicles of judicial officers were vandalised during the rescue operation.

"What happened is something that scares everyone…when SP was rescuing the officers from there, women judicial magistrates' vehicles were vandalised. Roads were blocked to see that no vehicle passes through. During the rule of Left Front, Anita Dewan - a woman official, was dragged out of her vehicle and beaten to death. This was a similar plan. Mamata Banerjee's continuous instigating statements are responsible for this," The Union Minister said.

A day earlier, protests and clashes had erupted in Kolkata outside the Chief Electoral Officer’s office over alleged irregularities in voter applications, prompting authorities to impose restrictions and increase security deployment.

West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026

West Bengal is heading into Assembly elections later this month, and the revision of electoral rolls has become a deeply contested issue between the ruling government led by Mamata Banerjee and the Election Commission. The SIR process, meant to verify and clean up voter data, has instead triggered massive protests in the state. 

West Bengal Assembly elections are set to take place in two phases on April 23 and 29, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4.

Also Read: WATCH: Historic Liftoff as Artemis II Astronauts Blast Off For First Moon Voyage In Over 50 Years