Mofakkerul Islam, a Calcutta High Court advocate and former candidate for the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), was arrested at Bagdogra Airport while allegedly heading to Bengaluru. His arrest follows significant protests in Malda, West Bengal, against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which resulted in the hostage-taking of seven judicial officers. The protests were triggered by mass deletions from the voter list ahead of the upcoming two-phase Assembly elections. The situation escalated into a hostage crisis lasting nearly ten hours before police and paramilitary forces intervened. The Supreme Court has criticized the state administration for its handling of the incident and has transferred the investigation to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Mofakkerul claimed his arrest was politically motivated, linking it to his participation in protests against the SIR. So far, at least 35 individuals have been arrested, many with ties to AIMIM and the Indian Secular Front (ISF).