India, April 3 -- Police arrested 18 people on Thursday in connection with a violent mob agitation the night before that held seven judicial officers hostage for eight hours in West Bengal's Malda even as fresh protests broke out across four districts against the controversial deletion of names under the special intensive revision (SIR).

Maulana Muhammad Shahjahan Ali Qadri, the Indian Secular Front (ISF) candidate from the Mothabari assembly seat in Malda district, was arrested along with 17 others, including his two sons, on charges of disturbing peace, obstructing government staff from discharging duty, destroying public property, among other charges.

Seven judicial officers, two of whom were women, were trapped inside the office of ...