EC directs CS to file FIRs against 5 poll officials
The Statesman | 6 August 2025
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday has directed the West Bengal chief secretary Manoj Pant to lodge FIRs against two Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), who are WBCS executives, two Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) and one casual data entry operator on charge of irregularities in connection with electoral-roll revisions in two Assembly constituencies – Baruipur Purba and Moyna – in South 24-Parganas and East Midnapore districts respectively.
The ECI has also directed Mr Pant to suspend the two EROs and two AEROs with immediate effect and start suitable disciplinary proceedings against them without any delay.
Today’s ECI move against the erring poll officials is significant particularly at the backdrop against when the commission has asked the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal to start preparations for the Special Intensive Revisions (SIR) for electoral rolls in the state where assembly elections likely to be held in April-May 2026.
“…..I am to state that the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, has forwarded a report vide his mail dated 29.07.2025 informing about the wrongful addition of names in the electoral rolls by EROs and AEROs of AC No. 137-Baruipur Purba (District-South 24 Parganas) and AC No. 206 – Moyna (District-Purba Medinipur). Copy of the mail and enclosures are hereby attached. It has been reported that the said officers have not only failed to perform duty as ERO and AERO while disposing off the applications but also violated the policy of data security while sharing their login credentials of the ER database with unauthorized persons,” the ECI states in its letter written to Mr Pant.
“The commission has taken serious note of the grave lapses committed by the officers,” the letter in possession of The Statesman says adding, “ FIRs be lodged against the above-mentioned erring EROs and AEROs for their actions, which potentially amount to criminal misconduct. Furthermore, FIR shall also be lodged against the casual Data Entry Operator Shri Surojit Halder.”
The EROs are Debottam Dutta Choudhury, WBCS (Exe) posted as project director (monitoring) in district rural development cell in South 24 Parganas and Biplab Sarkar, WBCS (Exe), who is district officer in minority affairs section in East Midnapore.
The AEROs are Tathagata Mondal, assistant programme officer, MGNREGS in Joynagar in South 24-Parganas and Sudipta Das, panchayat accounts and audit officer in Tamluk, East Midnapore.
The five poll personnel including the two WBCS officers had allegedly shared login credentials through fake voters’ names were included into the electoral rolls. They were summoned by Mr Agarwal at the CEO office for clarifications and found involved in the irregularities.
The irregularities were revealed during a random sampling audit conducted by the commission prompting it to issue a fresh directive to all District Electoral Officers (DEOs).