‘Gross dereliction of duty’: ADM issues show-cause notice in Malda judicial officer ‘hostage’ incident

New Delhi: Seven judicial officials, including three women, were arrested on April 1 after the District Magistrate (DM) of Malda in West Bengal issued a show-cause notice to the other District Magistrate (Law and Order). A show-cause notice dated April 4 was served on Field Marshal Sheikh Ansar Ahmed for “serious dereliction of duty and failure to report the situation on the ground to higher authorities regarding the status of judicial officials in Kaliacak on April 1, 2026”. The notice mentioned that the ADM’s proactive communication with the zoning officer and block development officer (BDO) showed that he was “fully aware of the ongoing developments on the ground and cannot claim to be ignorant of the prevailing situation”. The notice accuses Ahmed of failing to inform superior authorities of the seriousness of the situation during the critical period between 3:30 and 8:30 pm on the day of the incident. “For five consecutive hours, the higher administration received no on-site input from designated officials, thereby severely impairing the administration’s ability to take timely preventive or remedial action,” the report states.The DM sought a written explanation of the reasons for the “failure to communicate the seriousness of the situation on the ground to superiors,” the steps he took to assume on-site coordination and escalation responsibilities, and any other facts or circumstances documented.A major political storm broke out in West Bengal when judicial officials were held hostage for several hours before being rescued by the police amid fierce resistance from a group of voters who claimed that their names had been removed from the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.The Supreme Court has taken notice of the incident and directed the Election Commission (ECI) to order a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said he had been following the incident until 2 a.m.The ECI later handed over the investigation to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the central agency that investigates terrorism-related cases.A team of the NIA on Saturday visited the office of the Malda Superintendent of Police (SP) and later investigated the BDO’s office at Kali Chowk, Malda.The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the ruling TMC have both accused each other of triggering a political row ahead of the April 23-29 West Bengal assembly election polls.Counting of votes in all 294 constituencies is scheduled for May 4.(with ANI input)