Kolkata, Apr 6 (PTI) Malda’s Additional District Magistrate (Law and Order) Shaikh Ansar Ahamad was issued two show cause notices over allegations of unauthorised remarks on the ongoing SIR exercise and the security lapse during the gherao of the judicial officers in Kaliachak on March 31, officials said on Monday.
The notices were served on Ahamad by District Magistrate Rajanvir Singh Kapur, asking him to respond within seven days.
Ahamad was deputed for law and order duty on March 31, according to one of the notices.
It subsequently came to the administration’s notice, through social media and other sources, that while discharging the duty, he addressed the people who gheraoed the judicial officers and expressed concerns over the SIR exercise without prior authorisation, the notice said.
During the address, he made certain commitments to members of the public without the knowledge or approval of higher authorities, which may be beyond the scope of authority vested in his office, it said.
He publicly indicated he would endeavour to have the date of SIR adjudication extended, a matter under the purview of the Election Commission and subject to the directions of the Supreme Court, it added.
Such statements, even if made with good intent, may have created unwarranted expectations among the public and may not be consistent with the role assigned to him, the notice said.
Seven judicial officers, including three women, were held captive by a mob for over nine hours without food or water at the BDO office in Kaliachak on March 31. Even after they were rescued, the judicial officers’ vehicles were pelted with stones and attacked with sticks and bricks.
As many as 700 judicial officers from West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand are deployed in the ongoing SIR (Special Intensive Revision) process to deal with over 60 lakh objections of those who are excluded from the voter lists.
Meanwhile, the inspector-in-charge of the Naihati police station in North 24 Parganas district was suspended for allegedly taking Naihati Municipality chairperson Ashok Chatterjee to the SDO office during the nomination process of the TMC candidate, officials said.
“Police officers have been directed to maintain strict neutrality during the election process. Any deviation from these instructions is viewed seriously,” an official said.
He said the conduct of the officer amounted to a violation of the guidelines, barring police personnel from extending any assistance to political leaders during nominations.
Further action would be taken after a detailed report is examined, he added.
BJP leader Arjun Singh shared a video of Chatterjee getting down from a police vehicle at the SDO office in Barrackpore to attend the nomination process of TMC’s Naihati candidate Sanat Dey. PTI SCH SOM
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