Kolkata, 03 June (H.S.) : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a chargesheet against 31 accused in connection with the alleged unlawful detention of judicial officers, road blockades and obstruction of official duties during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in West Bengal's Malda district.

According to the NIA, the accused have been charged under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, the National Highways Act, 1956, and the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Act, 1972.

In a statement, the agency said the chargesheet details the specific role played by each accused during the incidents under investigation. The probe reportedly found that the accused were actively involved in preventing judicial officers engaged in the SIR exercise from carrying out their duties and in creating road blockades at multiple locations in Malda district.

The NIA alleged that the accused assembled unlawfully, obstructed public roads, hindered the movement of government officials and wrongfully restrained judicial officers involved in the revision process. The agency said these actions interfered with the discharge of official duties and disrupted the lawful conduct of the exercise.

According to investigators, the activities of the accused adversely affected a statutory electoral process and disturbed law and order in the region. The agency claimed that the chargesheet is supported by documentary, digital and witness evidence collected during the course of the investigation.

The case was handed over to the NIA following directions issued by the Supreme Court, which had taken suo motu cognisance of the incidents involving judicial officers during the SIR process in Malda. The court had also expressed concern over the alleged obstruction and violence faced by officials engaged in the exercise.

The NIA said the investigation remains ongoing and efforts are underway to identify other absconding accused and suspects who may have been involved in the alleged conspiracy and related unlawful activities.

The agency added that further legal action would be taken against any additional individuals found to have played a role in the incidents, which it said undermined constitutional and statutory processes and affected normal public life.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh