Roshan Giri name missing from voter list- His name had been struck off in June 2018, months after the Gorkhaland agitation ended in September 2017.

His name had been removed from the electoral roll of Darjeeling Assembly constituency in June 2018, months after the statehood agitation ended in Sept 2017

Roshan Giri: File picture

Vivek Chhetri   |  TT  |  Darjeeling   |  18.04.21: Roshan Giri, the second-in-command of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Bimal Gurung camp), could not vote on Saturday as his name was missing from the electoral roll of Darjeeling Assembly seat.

His name had been struck off in June 2018, months after the Gorkhaland agitation ended in September 2017.

Piyush Salunkhe, returning officer of Darjeeling seat, explained why. “According to the police report, Giri had pending non-bailable warrants against him that lifted on March 20, also the last date to finalise the voter list,” said Salunkhe. Had Giri applied for inclusion of his name on March 20, it would have been there, he said.

Names of Morcha leader Gurung, Gurung’s wife Asha, daughter Nanda and son Avinash, and other Morcha leaders had also been deleted from the electoral roll.

A number of cases had been slapped against Giri, Gurung and other Morcha leaders by the state government during the Gorkhaland agitation period, after which they were on the run since 2017. Sources said that the names were deleted on the grounds that they had non-bailable warrants  and were absconding and hence “ceased to be or are not ordinarily a resident in the constituency.”

However, Gurung and his family could vote on Saturday.

Giri said he was disappointed after not finding his name in the voter list of the polling booth of Chandmari Community Hall in Darjeeling.

“I had applied for inclusion of my name in the electoral roll on February 1, 2021. I had received a text message asking me to furnish documents and I had followed the instructions accordingly,” said Giri.

“I did not know about this bit about March 20. Since I had applied earlier, the authorities could have informed me about this,” he added.

Voting in Darjeeling hills and Kalimpong passed off peacefully on Saturday.

(Courtesy & source- https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/west-bengal-assembly-elections-2021-roshan-giri-name-missing-from-voter-list/cid/1812893)