Voters queue at Dinhata Block office for submitting documents to tribunal

Cooch Behar: Voters whose names were excluded from the SIR electoral roll have begun submitting documents offline to the tribunal, with long queues witnessed at the Dinhata-1 Block Development Office. Similar scenes were reported across other block offices in the district, including the District Magistrate’s office.

A large number of residents from various areas under Dinhata-1 Block alleged that their names were omitted from the final voter list despite their cases being under trial. In the hope of having their names reinstated, affected

voters gathered at a special camp organised at the block office, braving the scorching sun since morning to submit necessary documents.

Several voters claimed their names were struck off even after they had submitted all required paperwork during the verification process. “We are being harassed,” some alleged, expressing frustration over repeated visits and uncertainty regarding restoration of their voting rights. No official statement has yet been issued by the administration.

Ashira Parveen, one of the affected voters, said four members of her family had their names removed despite submitting documents.

“We are forced to come here repeatedly,” she said. Another resident, Manju Bibi of Petla Gram Panchayat, voiced similar concerns, questioning the basis of her exclusion and expressing anxiety over whether her name would be reinstated.

According to official data, the total number of voters in the Cooch Behar district stood at 24,90,789 before the SIR process began.

While 1,13,370 names were excluded in the draft list published in December, 8,426 were removed in the final list released on February 28. At present, 2,38,000 cases remain pending.

Following subsequent supplementary lists, the number of deleted voters has been added to 91,854, with a total of 2,13,650 individuals currently excluded across the district.