BJP neta held in Tamluk over bid to delete 343 living voters

Tamluk: A BJP panchayat member was arrested on Monday after a booth-level officer (BLO) filed an FIR alleging that the local neta attempted to submit multiple Form 7 applications to delete the names of 343 living voters from the electoral roll by falsely declaring them dead.The incident occurred at booth no. 242 in the Padumbasan area of Tamluk. The accused, Amit Mondal of Pitulsaha village, allegedly filed Form 7 applications against 343 healthy individuals, including the BLO and his family members.
BLO Asfaq Ali Beg said, "I was stunned to find that he applied for Form 7 against my entire family. Even my mother, Arjuman Laila, who is a recipient of the prestigious ‘Shiksharatna' award, was listed to be removed as dead or ineligible. I lodged an FIR at the police station to ensure the safety of myself and the other voters."The police are currently probing how a person living 12 km away obtained the data of so many voters and whether an organised racket is working behind the scenes.Lawyers representing Trinamool said, "This is a deep-rooted conspiracy being carried out across the state under the guise of SIR . The goal is to somehow show living voters as dead. The fact that he targeted a BLO's entire family proves there is a larger plot behind this."Leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari, in a post on X, said, "How on earth can the West Bengal Police, acting at the behest of the TMC regime, arrest an innocent citizen and Elected Representative (Panchayat) like Amit Mondal by filing a case against him for simply filing Form 7, which is an absolutely integral and lawful procedure in the SIR exercise of electoral rolls? This is not just an attack on democracy; it is a blatant mockery of the ECI's authority! The draconian charges slapped on him, including sedition-like sections, reek of political vendetta."Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "Form 7 is now BJP's last refuge, and it is being weaponised to delete genuine voters. With the SC upholding all Trinamool demands, they (BJP) know they are staring at imminent defeat and hence trying to target voters whom they believe will not vote for them.