Overview
- The NIA carried out night-long raids in Malda and arrested 15 people who were produced before a special NIA court and remanded to 14 days' custody for custodial interrogation.
- Those arrests relate to the April 1 Mothabari incident when seven judicial officers were allegedly held inside the Kaliachak-2 BDO office and another officer was confined in a vehicle during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
- Investigators say scrutiny of CCTV footage and questioning of earlier arrestees produced crucial leads that helped identify the newly detained suspects.
- With the latest round of detentions, the total number held in the probe has risen to the mid-to-high 60s, including earlier arrests of locally prominent figures such as advocate Mofakkerul Islam and ISF-linked individuals.
- The case remains under fast-track attention after the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance and the Election Commission moved the probe to the NIA, which is seeking others involved and testing whether a wider, coordinated conspiracy targeted officials ahead of state elections.