EC Suspends 4 State Registration Officials, 1 Casual Worker for Lapses in Preparing Electoral Rolls

PTI, Kolkata, Aug 5, 2025 : The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday suspended four officers and a casual worker from West Bengal for allegedly failing to perform their duties and committing lapses while preparing the electoral rolls in two districts.

The poll panel also directed that FIRs be lodged against the five individuals—two Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), two Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), and a data entry operator. BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya alleged that the officers were compromising the electoral roll at the behest of the ruling Trinamool Congress.

In a letter to Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, EC Secretary Sujeet Kumar Mishra stated: "I am to state that the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, has forwarded a report... informing about the wrongful addition of names in the electoral rolls by EROs and AEROs of Baruipur Purba and Moyna Assembly constituencies." Baruipur Purba and Moyna seats are located in South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur districts, respectively.

The EC said that Debottam Dutta Choudhury, Tathagata Mondal, Biplab Sarkar, and Sudipta Das were suspended with immediate effect, and disciplinary proceedings were initiated for their alleged failure to comply with the directive of the poll panel. Dutta Choudhury and Mondal were ERO and AERO of Baruipur Purba, while Sarkar and Das were ERO and AERO of Moyna, respectively.

The EC also ordered that FIRs be lodged against the four and the casual Data Entry Operator, Surojit Halder, for violating the policy of data security by sharing their login credentials of the Electoral Registration database with unauthorized persons.

In its letter to Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, the EC emphasized that the suspended officials were guilty of indulging in electoral malpractices in the process of preparation of electoral rolls. The letter further noted that, according to the Representation of People's Act, officers employed in connection with the preparation, revision, and correction of electoral rolls shall be deemed to be on deputation to the EC for the period during which they are so employed.