NIA Arrests 15 in Bengal Road Blockade and Judicial Officers’ Detention Cases Linked to SIR Protests

PTI, May 26, 2026, Kolkata/New Delhi : The NIA has arrested 15 protestors in connection with last month’s road blockades and the alleged illegal detention of judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, officials said on Tuesday.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which took over the investigation on the Election Commission of India’s direction after the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the incidents, conducted extensive searches in Malda district on Monday.

A total of 15 people were apprehended for their involvement in road blockades and the illegal confinement of judicial officers in two separate cases, the agency said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

In one case, 12 individuals, including the main accused Joshim Sk and Asmaul Sk, were arrested for detaining a woman judicial officer for around eight hours on the Haibatola–Amlitola road, it said.

Three others — Alamgir Sk, Nurul Islam and Habibur Rahman — have been arrested in connection with the blockade of Bagmara Bridge in Mothabari block, the anti-terror agency said.

According to officials, seven judicial officers were held inside the BDO office in Mothabari, and an eighth was confined inside a vehicle on April 1 after a large crowd protesting the deletion of names from voters’ lists turned violent, blocked roads, vandalised vehicles and attacked police personnel.

Investigations to trace others involved in the incidents are in progress, the NIA said, adding that it is trying to uncover the larger conspiracy behind the coordinated blockades and detention.