Bengal initiates enquiry into officials accused of ‘electoral roll irregularities’

Kolkata: 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.

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of Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) Sudipta Das and Surojit Halder, data entry operator, have been withdrawn from electoral revision and election-related duties.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.

The two EROs are West Bengal Civil Service (executive) officers. It was also instructed to lodge an FIR against the casual Data Entry Operator Surajit Halder of 137 Baruipur Purba AC. “… an internal enquiry into the issue as well as a comprehensive review of the existing processes and procedures governing the conduct of the said exercise has been undertaken,” the letter to Sujeet Kumar Mishra, the Secretary of ECI, stated. It was further stated that initiating proceedings before a detailed enquiry against these officers, who have consistently demonstrated sincerity and competence, may be a disproportionately harsh measure.

“Such an action could have a demoralising impact not only on the individuals concerned but also on the broader team of officers engaged in electoral responsibilities and other administrative functions,” the communique stated. The officers who were on the suspension list of the poll panel to be executed with immediate effect are Debottam Dutta Chowdhury and Tathagata Mondal, ERO of 137 Baruipur Purba Assembly Constituency and AERO of the same Constituency, respectively.

Biplab Sarkar and Sudipta Das, ERO and AERO of 26 Moyna EC, East Midnapore, were on the suspension list of the poll body.

“You will kindly appreciate that district-level officials and field officers have a wide range of responsibilities and functions assigned to them by their appointing authorities, in addition to the electoral roll revision works and other election-related works, which are time-bound tasks. Therefore, there are occasions where certain functions are delegated to subordinate staff in good faith,” the letter stated.