New Delhi [India], June 25 (ANI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a local leader and key accused in one of the cases related to the pre-poll Special Intensive Revision (SIR) related mob blockades, violence and detention of judicial officers that took place in West Bengal’s Malda district in April.
Sayem Chowdhary, alias Babu Chowdhary, the local political leader from Mothbari (Malda), was taken into custody by an NIA team after he was questioned at the agency’s branch office in Kolkata.
Chowdhary had contested in the recently concluded West Bengal assembly election as a Congress candidate from the Mothabari constituency in Malda district
In a statement, NIA said, “Sayem Chowdhary was a key accused involved in the illegal detention of judicial officers at BDO Office Block-II on April 1, 2026.”
Chowdhary, the NIA said, was part of the mob that had indulged in disruption of law and order and carried out attacks on police personnel engaged in official duty. Nine police personnel were injured in the attacks.
As per the NIA, the accused had delivered a speech in front of the BDO office a day before the incident to instigate people to engage in violent protests. He had conspired with other co-accused persons and participated actively in the unlawful assemblies that resorted to violence, intimidation, and obstruction during the SIR exercise.
NIA said it has arrested a total of 30 accused so far in the instant case.
The NIA is investigating over a dozen cases of mob protests and illegal detention of judicial officers during the SIR exercise of electoral rolls in the Malda district ahead of the Assembly polls in the state.
The NIA is continuing with its probe to identify and track all accused involved in the various cases as part of the bigger conspiracy behind the large-scale pre-poll violence. The agency had initiated a probe into the cases on the directives of the Supreme Court that had taken suo moto cognisance of April’s violence in Malda.
On June 4, the NIA had arrested two accused– Maulana Imran Ali and Rinku SK– in two distinct cases over illegal detention of judicial officers, blockade of a National Highway, disruption of law and order, and attacks on police personnel engaged in official duty during the SIR exercise of electoral rolls in Malda.
The NIA has registered a total of 12 cases in connection with the Malda violence and protests, and has already filed chargesheets in four of these cases. Maulana Imran Ali and Rinku SK were arrested in cases separate from those four. A total of 35 accused are currently in judicial custody in connection with the Malda violence, with investigation continuing in all 12 cases.
Imran and Rinku were earlier apprehended following searches by NIA teams as part of the agency’s investigation into the Malda violence. NIA found that the duo had participated actively in the unlawful assemblies that resorted to violence, intimidation, and obstruction during the SIR exercise.
The accused had also played an active role as part of the mobs that had attacked police personnel deployed on law and order duty during these protests, leading to injuries to several cops. One such mob attack had also caused grievous injuries to the driver of a police bus, who lost control of the vehicle after being hit on his head with a stone. (ANI)
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