Kolkata: Seven judicial officers tasked to adjudicate SIR cases in Malda’s Kaliachak were gheraoed inside Kaliachak Block 2 BDO office till 11pm on Wednesday by irate villagers, The villagers demanded their names be included in the voter list.It was only late at night that senior cops were sent to remove the protesters. The case has been reported to the EC and the Calcutta High Court. The EC has sought a report from the Bengal DGP.It was in the afternoon that villagers started the agitation and said the judicial officers wouldn’t be allowed to leave the BDO office until their demand, to be included in the voter list, was met. A judicial officer said, “It started around 3.30pm. We informed the matter to our superiors, to the EC, the Malda district magistrate and the police superintendent. No one arrived till 11pm.”“We don’t know why central forces are not being used. We have three woman officials among us — Arshi Hasmat, Olivia Bhattacharya and Roopkatha Bhattacharya. This is a cause of tremendous anxiety,” he said.Reacting to this, a senior EC official said: “We are coordinating with the district administration and the SP has been asked to arrange for their rescue.”
