The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Monday arrested 15 people from West Bengal’s Malda district in connection with the road blockades and illegal detention of judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.

The central agency, which took over the probe following a directive from the Election Commission of India (ECI) after the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the security breach which occurred on April 1, conducted widespread raids across the district.

“A total of 15 persons were apprehended for their involvement in the blockade of roads and the illegal detention of judicial officers on duty in two separate cases,” the agency said in a statement.

In the first case, the agency arrested 12 people, including suspected main conspirators Joshim Sk and Asmaul Sk. They are accused of orchestrating an aggressive blockade that trapped a woman judicial officer inside her vehicle for approximately eight hours on the road linking Haibatola and Amlitola.

Three other accused, identified as Alamgir Sk, Nurul Islam, and Habibur Rahman, were apprehended in a separate case related to the complete blockade of the Bagmara Bridge in Malda’s Mothabari block, which physically isolated on-duty officials and disrupted local security reinforcement vectors.

“Investigations to trace the others involved in the incidents are in progress. NIA is trying to unveil the larger conspiracy behind the coordinated blockades and judges’ detentions,” added the statement.

The case was shifted to the central agency amid rising concerns over institutional intimidation and political mobilisation during the poll-preparedness phase. The Supreme Court slammed the West Bengal administration over the violence against judicial officers deputed in Malda.