Cooch Behar: A controversy has erupted in Dinhata after the names of two serving Indian Army jawans were placed under the “under adjudication” category in the voter list despite submission of valid documents. The jawans, brothers Farooq Ahmed and Ferdous Ahmed, are residents of Dinhata and are currently serving in the Indian Army guarding the nation’s borders.
According to local Booth Level Officer (BLO) Khairul Zaman, he personally collected and verified the documents of the two soldiers, including their service identity cards and OBC certificates and submitted them to the office of the Assistant Electoral Officer. Expressing concern over the matter, Zaman said it was unfortunate that their names were still kept in the adjudication list even after all necessary documents had been submitted.
One of the affected jawans, Ferdous Ahmed, said, “We have not yet officially informed the Army authorities as we are hopeful that the issue will be resolved at the local administrative level.” He questioned why their names were placed under the uncertainty list despite submitting what he described as “100 per cent valid documents.”
Reacting to the incident, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Partha Pratim Roy alleged that it reflects a larger conspiracy and claimed that even soldiers serving the nation were not spared. The incident has sparked strong reactions locally and it remains to be seen whether the administration will rectify the error and restore the voting rights of the two jawans.