ECI suspends 7 Bengal officers over misconduct in SIR electoral revision
ECI suspends 7 Bengal officers over misconduct in SIR electoral revision
ECI suspends seven West Bengal officers for dereliction of duty during the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll, with Feb 17 compliance deadline and FIR directions
The Election Commission of India has suspended seven West Bengal government officers deputed as Additional Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state's electoral roll. The suspensions are linked to alleged misconduct, dereliction of duty, and misuse of statutory powers, and the Commission has directed the state chief secretary to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the seven immediately.
In a formal directive, the Commission warned of strict action for lapses in duties and has summoned the West Bengal chief secretary to New Delhi for briefing. The ECI set a February 17 deadline for compliance with its directions and has kept a close watch on the implementation of SIR across the state.
SIR began in West Bengal on November 4, with the first draft electoral roll published on December 16. In its review, officials acknowledged significant deletions: about 5.8 million names of absent, permanently shifted, dead, or duplicate voters were removed. Roughly 15.2 million voters whose mapping with the 2002 roll or other discrepancies could not be resolved were called for hearings that concluded recently, highlighting the scale of the exercise.
The seven suspended officers are spread across districts including Murshidabad, South 24 Parganas, West Medinipur, and Jalpaiguri. The Commission has directed the Chief Secretary to lodge FIRs against those found to have wilfully flouted norms during the SIR process, a move the ECI says is essential to safeguard data security and electoral integrity.
As West Bengal gears up for upcoming electoral exercises, officials and voters will be watching how strictly the ECI enforces standards and whether further actions follow, signaling the Commission's resolve to curb malpractice and ensure a clean, credible roll.
