Malda/Bagdogra: Moffakkerul Islam, 43, prime instigator of the Malda violence during which seven judicial officers were held hostage for nine hours, was nabbed by Bengal CID outside Bagdogra airport on Friday morning minutes before he was to board a flight to Bengaluru along with an aide.A Calcutta High Court lawyer, Islam had contested the 2021 Bengal assembly elections as a candidate of Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) from his hometown Itahar in North Dinajpur. He had been on the run since Wednesday’s violence outside Kaliachak BDO’s office. His associate and fellow lawyer Ekramul Bagani was also taken into custody, taking the total number of arrests in connection with the incident to 35. Among those arrested earlier is Mothabari ISF candidate Maulana Shahjahan Ali.
Police said 19 cases have been registered across Malda, with Islam being named in three. “Islam is the principal conspirator and instigator in the demonstration and roadblocks. While citizens have the right to protest, violence will not be tolerated. We are examining whether the incident was pre-planned and if more individuals were involved,” said K Jayraman, IGP North Bengal.Videos circulating on social media purportedly show Islam addressing a large gathering while standing atop a car and calling upon senior administrative officials — DM, SP and DIG — to come to the protest site and disperse the crowd “if they dared”.The protest, triggered by deletion of names from the voters’ list, soon turned violent with the mob blocking roads, vandalising vehicles and attacking police personnel. Seven judicial officers were held hostage inside the BDO office and an eighth was confined inside a vehicle. The mob also hurled stones and attacked the vehicles while the judicial officials were being evacuated and put up bamboo barricades to obstruct police movement.Jayraman acknowledged there was delay in the rescue operation but denied any negligence. “A large number of women and children were present, which limited the scope for immediate physical intervention. However, police personnel remained with the judicial officers to ensure their safety. Following the incident, CAPF personnel have been deployed,” he said.Shortly after his arrest, Islam told reporters that the agitation would continue. “The demonstration will go on until names of all deleted voters are restored in the electoral rolls,” he said while being escorted to a police vehicle. He later released a video on Facebook from inside Bagdogra police station denying any role in the hostage situation. He claimed he was stopped while travelling for legal work.“I was arrested for speaking against the deletion of voters’ names during SIR. I was supporting their protest but had no involvement in detaining judicial officers. I urge people to take necessary steps to ensure their names are included in the voters’ list,” he said. Since his unsuccesful electoral foray in 2021 — he won just 831 votes — Islam had mostly been concentrating on his legal career, specialising in cyber crime and travelling across the country to represent his clients. He was, however, vocal during protests against the Waqf Amendment Act last year and was named in multiple FIRs in North 24 Parganas.
