Malda: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a local political leader from West Bengal’s Malda district in connection with pre-poll violence, mob blockades, and the illegal detention of judicial officers. The arrested individual, Sayem Chowdhary, also known as Babu Chowdhary, is a resident of Mothbari in Malda and had recently contested the West Bengal assembly election as a Congress candidate from the Mothabari constituency. He was taken into custody by an NIA team in Kolkata following an intense round of questioning at the agency’s branch office.
According to NIA officials, Chowdhary is a key accused in the blockades and disturbances that took place during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls in April. Investigators revealed that on April 1, 2026, the accused was actively involved in leading a violent mob that targeted public servants and illegally detained judicial officers at the Block Development Office (BDO) Block-II. The federal agency stated that Chowdhary had delivered an inflammatory speech in front of the BDO office a day prior to the incident, instigating locals to launch violent protests and obstruct the statutory electoral roll revision.
The resulting mob violence led to major law and order disruptions and a direct assault on law enforcement personnel, leaving nine police officers injured. The NIA has registered 12 distinct cases related to the widespread pre-poll unrest in Malda, acting under the directives of the Supreme Court, which had taken suo motu cognisance of the April violence. With Chowdhary’s custody, the total number of individuals arrested by the central agency in this specific case has reached 30, while 35 accused overall remain in judicial custody as teams continue to track other conspirators.
