Malda: In the Malda violence case linked to the gherao and harassment of seven judicial officers in April at Mothabari, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Sariul Sheikh, president of the Kaliachak-I block, and Yusuf Sheikh, former TMC president of the Sujapur region. The arrests followed a prolonged interrogation on Friday, May 8.
Ahead of vote counting for the West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, the NIA had issued notices to nine individuals, including Abdur Rahman, election agent of Sujapur candidate Sabina Yasmin, along with Sariul Sheikh, former food superintendent Haji Ketabuddin Sheikh, and Yusuf Sheikh. While some initially avoided appearing before the agency, citing election duties, they later complied.
During questioning, the NIA seized mobile phones belonging to Sariul and Yusuf. The two were subsequently taken to Kolkata on Saturday. Sariul (also reported as Sadiul) Sheikh is a resident of Sultanganj under Kaliachak police station limits.
According to investigators, both leaders are directly linked to the protests in Mothabari that obstructed vehicles carrying judicial officers, as well as the blockade of a national highway near Sujapur Hospital. Notably, Sariul is said to own a nursing home adjacent to the hospital, where the protest took place.
The NIA stated that the arrests are connected to the April 1 incident, when judicial officers were allegedly confined inside the BDO office in Mothabari, along with coordinated blockades at multiple points on National Highway 12, including the Sujapur and Chowringhee intersections.
Earlier, another accused, Manjir alias Bhola Sheikh from Halpara in Sujapur gram panchayat, was also arrested in connection with the case. The agency is now probing the broader conspiracy behind the coordinated highway blockades at five locations.
