The Election Commission of India (ECI) has taken strict action against five officials in West Bengal for serious violations related to the security of voter data. The Commission has instructed the state’s Chief Secretary, Manoj Pant, to suspend two Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), two Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), and a casual worker. The Election Commission has ordered the authorities to file FIRs (First Information Reports) against them.
According to the Commission, these officials allegedly shared their login credentials to the Electoral Roll (ER) database with unauthorized individuals. As a result, this represents a serious breach of data security and official responsibility. Furthermore, the Commission stated that their negligence amounts to criminal misconduct.
The suspended officers include:
- Debottam Dutta Choudhury, ERO of Baruipur Purba constituency.
- Tathagata Mondal, AERO of the same constituency.
- Biplab Sarkar, ERO of Moyna constituency.
- Sudipta Das, AERO of Moyna.
- Surojit Halder, a casual Data Entry Operator.
During a sample check of voter rolls in South 24 Parganas (Baruipur) and East Midnapore (Moyna) districts, officials identified these lapses. Specifically, they found that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) had, without proper field verification, added some names to the voter list. Consequently, this raised serious concerns about fake entries.
The ECI has also asked the West Bengal government to begin departmental inquiries and submit a report on the actions taken as soon as possible. The Commission cited provisions of election laws which state that if officials fail in their duties without good reason, they may face imprisonment of up to two years and a fine.
The Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, Manoj Agarwal, had submitted a report on July 29 detailing these irregularities, which led to the current action by the ECI.
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