The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has named 31 accused in chargesheets filed in four separate cases related to road blockades and the illegal detention of judicial officers during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Malda.
The chargesheets were filed before NIA Special Court, Kolkata, based on digital, technical, documentary and oral evidence, as well as the examination of several witnesses to the incidents that took place ahead of the state assembly polls in April 2026.
The accused have been charged under relevant sections of the BNS, 2023, National Highways Act, 1956, and West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Act, 1972.
The chargesheets detail the specific role of each accused and establish their involvement in the road blockades and the illegal detention or restraint of judicial officers engaged in the SIR of electoral rolls at various locations in Malda district.
NIA took over the investigation following the Supreme Court’s suo motu cognisance and directive. The agency found that the accused had participated in unlawful assemblies in a coordinated manner, blocked public roads, obstructed government officials, and wrongfully restrained judicial officers engaged in the SIR exercise.
Their actions interfered with the statutory electoral exercise and the discharge of official duties by public servants. NIA has also established in its chargesheets that the accused disrupted law and order in the region through their unlawful activities.
