Bengal Initiates Enquiry Into Officials Accused of 'Electoral Roll Irregularities'

Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant on Monday informed the Election Commission of India (ECI) that an internal enquiry has been initiated against four state government officials accused of adding fictitious voters to the electoral roll and compromising data security.

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KOLKATA:

He added that a follow-up report, on the action taken, will be submitted to the poll panel once the enquiry is complete.

The letter to ECI further stated that the services of Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) Sudipta Das and Surojit Halder, data entry operator, have been withdrawn from electoral revision and election-related duties. The poll panel had asked the Bengal government to suspend four officials and send a compliance report by 3 pm on Monday. The Commission was further directed to lodge FIRs against these erring Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and AEROs for their actions, which potentially amount to criminal misconduct.