The morning after the Kaliachowk-2 Block Development Office (BDO) under the Mothabari Assembly constituency was gheraoed by protesters, angry over the deletion of names from electoral rolls, the judicial officers handling the adjudication have left. A tea stall owner outside says the protesters, with women at the forefront, were “seeking a solution”.

About 15 km away, another protest has sprung up, with people blocking National Highway 12 raising the same questions.

Go down a further 5 km and there is a long queue outside the Kajigram Gram Panchayat office, hoping the few hapless staff sitting in front of dusty computers may hold the answers.

When the Election Commission (EC) released the voter list in February after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Malda had the second highest number of cases in adjudication (8.28 lakh), after minority-dominated Murshidabad district (11 lakh). As elections draw close, uncertainty persists on the Supplementary Lists and how many find themselves “deleted” from electoral rolls after adjudication, and the promised tribunals to hold hearings remain elusive, the strain is showing in Mothabari.

On Wednesday night, thousands blocked the two gates of the Kaliachowk-2 BDO, holding staff including seven judicial officers “hostage” for hours before they were rescued after midnight. The vehicles that came to carry them away were pelted with stones. Protesters also blocked the NH-12 at Mothabari, Sujapur and Kaliachowk, and village roads, through the night.

On Thursday, after the Supreme Court frowned at the events of the night, an NIA probe was ordered. Police arrested 18 people, including the candidate of the Indian Secular Front (an ally of the CPI-M) from Mothabari, Shahjahan Ali Qadri.

The EC held a virtual meeting with senior officers in West Bengal, including the Chief Electoral Officer, Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, and Director General of Police, where strict warnings were issued against a repeat of Wednesday’s night incidents.

The day after, a huge contingent of Central Armed Police Force along with police keep a watch at the BDO. The abandoned footwear on the premises tell the story of the violence, as does the silence of the office and the ‘Only for Honorable Judges’ posters stuck on doors of now-empty rooms.

A police official says: “The judges and other officials were very scared… Thousands had gathered… Now all of them are at the office of the District Magistrate in Malda.”

Rekha Das, who runs the tea stall next to the BDO office with son Sanjay, says people started gathering on Wednesday from the morning. “They protested against their names getting deleted from electoral rolls. Women were at the forefront of the gherao.”

About 400 people are continuing their road blockade at an ‘SBI crossing’ in Jadupur, using a tree trunk, bamboo staves or a bench as barricades. A solitary tyre burns on the road.

Rabiul Islam, 46, says that while his name is in the electoral rolls, he is here for his wife Ijon Bibi, whose application was rejected during the adjudication phase, and the others.

Md Tarique Haque, 30, asks how could it be that his father’s name is in the final voter list but he, his mother, two brothers and their wives find themselves under adjudication.

Claiming that of the 379 voters at their polling booth whose names were under adjudication, 172 had been deleted, Haque fears he and his family may meet the same fate (the EC is yet to release a comprehensive list of those deleted). “We are surprised that, even after giving all the documents, our names went for adjudication… We have no other option now but to protest on the roads to get the EC’s attention,” says Haque.

Salim Sheikh, 35, wants to know how his parents, his and his brother’s names are in the voter list post-SIR, but their spouses are out. “They don’t even mention the cause.”

Sheikh also talks about the confusion over the tribunal hearing process. “We wanted to submit documents at the tribunals, but they are saying no documents will be accepted. What is going on!”

The issue came up before the Supreme Court Wednesday, and while the EC did not want presentation of documents before the tribunals, which are to be headed by former high court chief justices and judges, the Court said they leave it to the discretion of the tribunals concerned.

Rabiul Alam, 37, says he has been home only for a few hours since the blockade started Wednesday. “We don’t know what the administration will do with us if our names are deleted. Where will we go? We have been living here since the Mughal period.”

There were protests and blockades at Jadupur and Narayangarh area under Old Malda Police Station too on Thursday morning, but police and Central forces cleared the road during the day, using force at Jadupur as protesters fought back. Three protesters were arrested.

At the Kajigram Gram Panchayat office, four temporary staff are fielding queries of people, many of whom have been waiting in a queue for long, to apply for hearings at the tribunal.

A panchayat member, Islam Sheikh, says: “A majority of the people here are illiterate or barely educated. They can’t submit their application on their own.”

Ajit Momin, a daily wage worker, says he tried but failed. “My surname is spelt differently in my voter I-card and Aadhaar card. Staff at the panchayat office tried to file my application but could not.”

One of the staff members says this is a common issue. “If there is a discrepancy in the name spelling, the tribunal application is not getting uploaded.”

Another hurdle is that against one mobile number, only one application can be submitted. This means everyone has to apply separately.