Kolkata, 02 April (H.S.): Protests continued for the second consecutive day on Thursday in West Bengal’s Malda district over allegations of large-scale deletion of names from the electoral rolls, with demonstrators blocking several key roads and disrupting traffic.

Thousands of people took to the streets in different parts of the district, affecting movement on national and state highways. Protesters alleged that a significant number of names were removed not only from the final electoral rolls but also from the supplementary lists, triggering widespread resentment over the past few days.

In Narayanpur under the Mangalbari gram panchayat of the Malda Assembly constituency, thousands blocked National Highway 12 (Kolkata–Siliguri corridor), leading to long traffic snarls and inconvenience for commuters. Similar protests were also reported from the English Bazar and Manikchak areas.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, seven judicial officials associated with the Special Intensive Revision process were allegedly gheraoed at the Kaliachak-2 Block Development Office in the Mothabari Assembly segment. Among them were three women officials. Central forces later intervened and safely escorted them out late at night.

Fresh protests resumed on Thursday morning, with demonstrators accusing the Election Commission of removing names of voters belonging to specific communities. In view of the tension, the administration has deployed central forces in sensitive areas.

In Jadupur under English Bazar, a large number of Muslim villagers blocked the national highway, claiming that despite being legitimate voters, their names had been deleted from the rolls.

In Manikchak, several hundred men and women staged protests by burning tyres on the road. The administration said it is closely monitoring the situation and efforts are underway to restore normalcy.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh