2026 Malda violence
| 2026 Malda violence | |
|---|---|
  2026 Malda violence (West Bengal)  2026 Malda violence (India) | |
| Location | 24°56′05″N 88°02′33″E / 24.934611°N 88.042544°E Mothabari, Malda district, West Bengal, India |
| Date | April 1, 2026 15:30 (IST (UTC+05:30)) |
Attack type | political violence |
| Motive | Anger over not founding names in the voter list after SIR |
The 2026 Malda violence, which is also known as publicly as Mothabari violence is a violence which took place in Mothabari of Malda district, West Bengal, India ahead of 2026 polls by some people.
The main reason of violence was the protest related to allegedly not including names of the voters of the Mothabari after SIR of West Bengal.[1]
Background
During the SIR process in West Bengal, just months before the 2026 West Bengal polls, several names were got deleted due to unable to link with old 2002 voter list of SIR. Already as of April 2026, as per ECI's official data, approx. 91 lakh voters name were deleted from the list, through the process of logical discrepancy.[2][3]
Following protests by the deleted voters, Supreme Court of India directed Election Commission of India to appoint judicial officers who will establish 19 tribunals, where the names of deleted voters would can be appealed.
The process was ongoing in the state however but on April 1, in Mothabari, the seven judicial officers (out of which three were women), which were gheraoed (hostage) near BDO office.[4][5]
A large number of police and security forces went to rescue the judicial officers late that night.[6]
Reactions
Soon after the violence both in Kaliaganj and Mothabari of Malda district, Supreme Court reacted to this by terming this incident as a "brazen attempt" to challenge the authority of the judiciary and also warned the state government for such mismanagement.[7] SC handovered the investigation of this case to NIA.[8]
During the investigation, on April 4, NIA team visited SP and BDO offices in Malda. The prime accused in the violence incident, Moffakkerul Islam who is a lawyer and also AIMIM candidate from Mothabari was arrested by the NIA, along with 34 others.[9] Soon during the investigation, NIA also arrested the Congress candidate Sayem Choudhury and Panchayat member Golam Rabbani.[10]
Soon after the incident, Chief Minister of West Bengal and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee alleged that NIA is harassing the people on the orders of Home Minister Amit Shah in order for Bharatiya Janata Party to win over Bengal in the polls.[11][12]
BJP gave a statement, blaming Mamata Govt. for such mismanagement. BJP West Bengal team led by President Samik Bhattacharya and Minister Sukanta Majumdar was not allowed to visit the violence place by the police.[13]
During the rally in Malda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also criticized the mismanagement of TMC government, terming it as 'Maha Jungle-Raj'. Meanwhile, West Bengal Education minister and TMC leader Bratya Basu alleged that PM Modi is trying to defame and to spread hatred towards Bengali language.[14]
Aftermath
Despite the chaos and violence, entire Malda district and Mothabari went to polls on 23 April, scheduled on for the first phase of the 2026 West Bengal polls, followed by the second phase on 29 April.[15][16] On 4 May, the result was counted where BJP came to power, removing TMC government led by Mamata Banerjee.[17][18]
References
- ↑ "West Bengal Assembly polls: Mamata dares Shah to meet Malda voters over deleted names". The Hindu. 4 April 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ "Millions in India stripped of vote before critical state election, as government seeks to 'purify' electoral roll". The Guardian. 22 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ↑ "Assembly Election 2026: ECI Revises Voter List, Removing Over 91 Lakh Names In West Bengal". All India Radio. 8 April 2026. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ "Divided by the river and united by SIR: Mothabari and Samserganj vote amidst high voter deletions". The Hindu. 22 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ↑ "SIR deletion protest erupts in Bengal, 7 judicial officials gheraoed for 8 hours, NH-12 blocked". The Indian Express. 3 April 2026. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ "BJP planning to impose President's Rule: Mamata". The Hindu. 3 April 2026. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ "Supreme Court: "রাজ্য প্রশাসন ব্যর্থ হলে কী করতে হবে জানি..", হুঁশিয়ারি সুপ্রিম কোর্টের". ABP Ananda. 6 April 2026. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ↑ "CBI নয়, মোথাবাড়ি কাণ্ডের তদন্তভার NIA-এর হাতে". Ei Samay. 2 April 2026. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
- ↑ "Alleged mastermind behind Malda violence arrested, NIA team arrives". The Hindu. 3 April 2026. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
- ↑ "NIA detains Congress pick in Mothabari case". The Times of India. 13 April 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ "Malda gherao case: CM says arrest of Mothabari prime accused by CID was 'in my control'". The Telegraph. 4 April 2026. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
- ↑ "Mamata Banerjee : 'আইনশৃঙ্খলা আমার হাতে নেই'...মোথাবাড়ির ঘটনায় কেন এমন দাবি মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর?". ABP Ananda. 3 April 2026. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
- ↑ "BJP Team Stopped From Visiting Clash-Hit Mothabari In West Bengal". NDTV.
- ↑ "BJP plotted Malda unrest, PM should stop peddling falsehood: TMC". The Hindu. 6 April 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ "Voting begins in India's West Bengal state after a national voter list purge". Associated Press. 23 April 2026. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
- ↑ "West Bengal Phase 1 polling begins with heavy security, CAPF cover". The Indian Express. 23 April 2026. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
- ↑ "Modi's BJP conquers Bengal, one of India's toughest political frontiers". BBC. 4 May 2026.
- ↑ "Day after landslide victory, BJP's Bengal tally climbs to 207 with recount win". The Hindu. 5 May 2026. Retrieved 7 May 2026.