New Delhi : A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team from Delhi reached Kaliachak in Bengal’s Malda on Friday following the Election Commission of India’s orders to investigate the mob siege at a block development officer’s (BDO) office the night before that held seven judicial officers hostage for hours and attracted the ire of the Supreme Court.

The 20-member NIA team reached Mothabari in the afternoon in 12 cars kept at the Kolkata airport - about 315 km away - hours after the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader, Mofakkerul Islam, from Bagdogra airport in Darjeeling district and said he was one of the main conspirators behind the violent agitation.

A second man, identified as Akramul Bagani, was also arrested for allegedly uploading videos on YouTube. “With this, the number of arrests made since Wednesday has gone up to 35. We have registered 19 cases throughout Malda. Islam is named in three of these cases,” additional director general of police (ADG) north Bengal K Jayaraman said.

Seven court-appointed judicial officers — two of whom were women — were trapped inside the BDO’s office for more than eight hours on Wednesday night until the police escorted them out around 10pm. An eighth officer — a woman — was stranded in her car on the road to the BDO’s office during the agitation in which locals blocked roads, including NH-12.

As the officers were being driven to safety, people blocked roads with bricks and bamboo poles and pelted stones at the passing vehicles, damaging several. The NIA team visited these spots and collected samples.

The Supreme Court, which ordered the appointment of retired and working judges for the adjudication process, came down heavily on the state government during a hearing on Thursday and asked why the administration took so long to rescue them.

Terming the episode “shocking”, the Supreme Court had said: “This is not a routine incident… it ex facie appears to be a calculated and deliberate move to demoralise judicial officers and obstruct them from discharging their duties.” The bench added that such conduct “amounts to challenging the authority of this court”, since the officers were acting as its “extended hands” in supervising the SIR process.

Around 700 judicial officers are adjudicating the applications of six million people put under a controversial ‘logical discrepancy’ category during the SIR. Tensions have risen in Bengal as the two-phase polls draw nearer.

Maulana Muhammad Shahjahan Ali Qadri, the Indian Secular Front (ISF) candidate from the Mothabari assembly seat, was arrested along with 17 others, including his two sons, on Thursday. More arrests were made on Thursday night.

The incident has triggered a row as Bengal awaits polls on April 23 and 29 which is likely to get sharply polarised. The state has 294 seats and the estimated 27% Muslim population (according to the 2011 census) influences results in around 120 constituencies.

Addressing an election rally in North Dinajpur district on Friday, Trinamool Congress chairperson and chief minister Mamata Banerjee said Islam’s arrest exposed the conspiracy.

“The ECI transferred 483 of our officers and posted new people. But our CID tracked down the main conspirator. We have long maintained that AIMIM and BJP are trying to create disturbances in Bengal. The Congress and ISF are into this as well. Common people will give a befitting reply to all of them,” Banerjee said.

The TMC announced that Banerjee will lead this election season’s first roadshow in Malda on Saturday and address three rallies as well.

Union minister Sukanta Majumdar cast serious doubts over the timing and intent behind the arrest of alleged Mofakkerul Islam, alleging it was a move to save him from an NIA probe.

“The NIA investigation is going on as per the instructions of our Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner. Before that, the CID arrested him. I have some doubts about this. Whether the arrest was made to actually arrest him or to save him will be known after the investigation. Whether anyone else is involved or not, Trinamool Congress is definitely there. We have shown you all the photos of this Mofakkerul with the Trinamool Congress, its leaders, and Mamata Banerjee. It shows how this man is or was associated with the TMC,” he said.

Union minister Kiren Rijiju criticised the West Bengal government, accusing it of disregarding constitutional norms and the authority of the judiciary.

“The TMC government in West Bengal doesn’t believe in the Constitution of India. TMC thinks it is above the judiciary and the Supreme Court. One must follow the rule of law and follow the Constitution. TMC, being frustrated, is taking the law into its hands. The people of West Bengal are ready to punish the TMC government in Bengal,” Rijiju told ANI in Thiruvanthapuram.

The BJP also posted photographs on X alleging that Mofakkerul Islam was seen with top TMC leaders.TMC leaders did not respond to HT’s queries for a comment on the claims.

Jayaraman said Mofakkerul Islam was a resident of Itahar and registered as a voter in the Raiganj assembly constituency in North Dinajpur.

“He is an AIMIM leader and apparently a lawyer as well. The CID was tracking him and some other suspects. The CID detained him at Bagdogra airport and informed us. He was trying to fly to Bengaluru,” said the DIG.

A Malda court remanded Islam in police custody for 14 days. He denied having any connection with AIMIM during the court production.

“I resigned from AIMIM in 2021. I am a part of this agitation. It will not stop until all delisted voters are included in the electoral roll,” Islam told reporters while he was being taken to the police lockup.

Headed by Asaduddin Owaisi, Hyderabad-based AIMIM is contesting around 10 assembly seats in Bengal as an ally of suspended TMC lawmaker Humayun Kabir who laid the foundation stone of a mosque modelled on Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid in Murshidabad district in December and formed the Janata Unnayan Party (JUP) to contest the polls.

AIMIM did not make any comment on Islam’s arrest till Friday evening. Mofakkerul Islam contested the Itahar assembly seat for the AIMIM in 2021 and received only 831 (0.83 %) votes. TMC won with 114,645 votes.

Referring to the allegations of delay in rescuing the judicial officers, Jayaraman said, “It is not that sufficient security cover was not there [at the BDO’s office]. We could not use force because many women and children were there among the agitators. We are investigating the cause of the delay