In an ironic turn of events, villagers in Bengal’s Mothabari who’d taken to the streets less than a month back fearing deletion from electoral rolls may now miss voting altogether — not because their names are gone from the voters’ list, but because they have cleared out of the area in fear of falling into the clutches of National Investigation Agency (NIA).With the central agency stepping up its probe into the April 1 gherao of judicial officers, hundreds of men have fled their homes fearing arrest, leaving behind near-deserted villages days before the area votes on April 23 in the first of Bengal’s two-phased polls.Two weeks after a midnight standoff in this otherwise obscure pocket of Malda drew national attention, Mothabari presents a stark, altered landscape. Doors remain shut through the day, courtyards lie empty and, in many homes, only women, children and the elderly wait — not for relief, but for the men who have disappeared.“There are six members in our family. All our names were placed under adjudication, so my husband applied to restore our voting rights. He was never part of any violence. Still, police sent him a notice,” said Jalili Bibi of Sadipur. “Now, four of our names have been cleared, but he is too afraid to return, even to vote.” It’s a similar tale in Jotgopal Kagmari village. Runa Laila’s husband, Md Asmaul Basar (39), who runs an e-rickshaw battery shop, is on the run. “He wasn’t part of any protest. He had gone to deliver an order. Someone has framed him and now the police are looking for him,” she said. “Voting is no longer our priority. I just want him to be safe.”

Arrests spark fear

Across Bengal, around 60.6 lakh names were sent for adjudication, of which 27 lakh were deleted. In Mothabari alone, 79,683 names were listed for judicial scrutiny, with 37,255 eventually deleted.Seven judicial officers deputed for SIR adjudication work were gheraoed by an agitated mob on April 1. The officers, including women judges, had to remain confined for over nine hours inside a block development office before they were finally rescued. The incident escalated rapidly, prompting the Supreme Court to hand over the probe to NIA on April 6. The fallout, thereafter, has been swift and sweeping.At least 52 people have been arrested so far. NIA has registered 12 cases and arrests have cut across party lines. An Indian Secular Front (ISF) worker was the first to be picked up by the central agency. That was followed by the arrest of Mothabari ISF candidate Maulana Shahjahan Ali Qadri and AIMIM leader Mofakkerul Islam by state CID. More recently, two Congress functionaries — close aides of Congress candidate Sayem Chowdhury — were arrested by NIA.Chowdhury himself was detained for questioning from Alinagar and released after a night-long interrogation. He had his mobile phone seized for forensic analysis. In a video message after his release, he alleged political vendetta and denied any role in the violence.But beyond the political sparring, the ground reality in Mothabari is quieter. The fear is widespread — and palpable. Even as adjudication restored some names, the aftermath of the April 1 violence has created a new barrier, one that no revision process can fix: voters present on paper, but absent on the ground.

Political blame game

In villages here, families say men have been leaving in batches since the NIA intensified its probe. Some have crossed into other districts, others are believed to be hiding in neighbouring states. Many have stopped answering calls.“We told them not to stay here,” said a middle-aged woman in Singapara, requesting anonymity. “Even if they are innocent, who will listen? If they are picked up, who will take care of us? His name is back on the voter list, but he won’t return to vote,” she says of her husband, who’s fled the area.The ground report suggests that, in several pockets, a significant number of adult men are currently missing. While there is no official count, the situation is attested to by empty village squares, shuttered shops, and the eerie stillness that settles in by evening.Political reactions have only sharpened the divide. PM Modi said the episode points to a “Maha Jungle Raj”, while Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused opposition parties of instigating the unrest. BJP says it has moved beyond the SIR row and is focusing on development. “People here need better roads, clean water, a dedicated women’s ward at the govt hospital, better schools and hostels,” said BJP candidate Nibaran Ghosh. “The sitting MLA did little beyond building personal wealth.”Sabina Yasmin, who had won this seat for Congress in 2011 and 2016 and on a TMC ticket in 2021 was replaced this time by her new party, which has tasked Md Najrul Islam with retaining the seat. Islam blamed BJP for deleting the names of valid voters and accused Congress and ISF of fuelling fear among villagers. “Congress is trying to help BJP by creating conflict among voters who are still eligible,” he said.Congress candidate Chowdhury, however, alleged a broader conspiracy. “TMC, BJP and NIA have acted together to target us. People can see what is happening,” he said. Caught in the crossfire are residents whose original grievance — the fear of losing their right to vote — now feels overshadowed. “We protested because our names were deleted,” said a young voter whose elder brother has fled. “Now, even if the name is there, the person is not.”As dusk falls, the silence deepens. In several homes, women sit around mobile phones, waiting for calls from husbands and sons. For a village that rose in protest to reclaim its place on the electoral roll, the coming election may pass with many of its voters missing — not erased by the system this time, but by the consequences of challenging it.