The Election Commission has handed over the investigation into the gherao of seven judicial officers involved in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Malda to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The incident has intensified political confrontations, with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trading blame.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee accused Union home minister Amit Shah and the poll panel of creating unrest to enable President’s rule in the poll-bound state, while the BJP said the TMC orchestrated Wednesday’s protest to protect "bogus voters".

The Supreme Court intervened after the Malda episode, censuring the state administration and directing the poll panel to deploy central forces at all centres where objections under SIR are being heard.

The unrest has spread across several districts just three weeks before the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly election.

Protesters burned tyres, blocked roads, and held silent marches in Malda, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, and Purba Bardhaman, where voting is scheduled for April 23.

Officials said seven judicial officers, including three women, were gheraoed from around 4 pm on Wednesday inside the Kaliachak 2 Block Development Office in Malda.

Protesters alleged that genuine voters' names had been removed from the electoral rolls. The officers were adjudicating cases of voters marked "under adjudication" in the draft electoral rolls published on February 28.

Officials said the crowd initially sought a meeting with the officers, and when entry was denied, they began demonstrating outside, which soon turned into a prolonged gherao.

The crowd also blocked National Highway-12, the main Kolkata-Siliguri route, alleging large-scale deletions during the SIR exercise.

Security personnel launched a rescue operation after midnight, bringing the judicial officers out late at night. Protesters reportedly tried to stop their vehicles and vandalise the cars.

There were unconfirmed reports that a few protesters were injured during the commotion. The NH-12 blockade continued for some time, and the Election Commission has sought a report from the state police chief.

Addressing rallies at Sagardighi and Suti in Murshidabad, Banerjee condemned the gherao while blaming the Election Commission and the BJP.

“No one should touch judges or judicial officers. People have every right to protest, but nobody should lay hands on them,” she said. She added that the BJP and the Centre were using the Malda incident to malign Bengal.

“The BJP has made many plans, and the Government of India is acting as its accomplice. Amit Shah is preparing the blueprint of a conspiracy. He must resign. Do not fall into the trap of riots. This is the BJP's plan,” she said.

Mamata said administrative powers had been stripped after the election announcement. “My powers have been taken away, and Bengal has been defamed. Nobody from the administration even informed me about the Malda incident.”

She also criticised the poll panel for failing to ensure the safety of judicial officers. “I condemn the Election Commission for failing to protect the judicial officers. The Supreme Court has rightly said so.”

She urged her supporters not to respond to provocation and accused the BJP of relying on communal tension and polarisation after "failing" to defeat the TMC electorally. State BJP spokesperson Debajit Sarkar said the ruling party instigated the agitation.

“Afraid of losing the elections following the deletion of names of bogus voters, the TMC has mobilised jihadi elements in the district and orchestrated this unconstitutional, illegal agitation, keeping judicial officers, magistrates, including women, confined in extreme heat and humid conditions for hours,” he said.

Protests against the SIR exercise have spread to other districts. In Jalpaiguri, locals blocked NH-27 in Maynaguri, claiming many genuine voters were marked "deleted" or "under adjudication".

The Maynaguri-Lataguri road and Maynaguri-Dhupguri stretch of the Asian Highway at Churabhandar were also blocked.

In Cooch Behar, locals blocked the Cooch Behar-Mathabhanga state highway at Madrasa More in Pachagarh for nearly three hours.

A silent march was organised in Purba Bardhaman’s Shaktigarh, and a memorandum was submitted to the BDO of Bardhaman-II block.