West Bengal polls: Roll revision strips ex-IAF officer of voting right

KOLKATA: A former Indian Air Force (IAF) officer, Wing Commander (Retd) Md Shamim Akhtar, has found his name abruptly deleted from the electoral roll after serving the nation for 17 years in various key roles. Akhtar, who is a voter of the Entally constituency, was a holder of a diplomatic passport during his service tenure.

"My name was there in the 2002 electoral roll from Kulti in West Burdwan. It was there even on the draft electoral roll published in Dec. I was a Class I Indian Air Force officer before I took voluntary retirement in 2022. After retirement, I shifted to Entally and became a voter here. I cast my vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. I was not called for any hearing but when the final electoral roll was published, I saw my name was put under adjudication. Finally, it came as a shock to me on March 27 when my name was deleted from the electoral roll," said Akhtar, adding, "The names of my father and brother are there in the electoral roll from Kulti."

Wing Commander Akhtar was commissioned in December as a flying officer in 2006. His first posting was at the Mechanical Training Institute, Air Force Station Tambaram, where he was the training wing adjutant overseeing the training requirements of approximately 1,500 trainees. Among his various roles, he was the executive director of air force schools in Chandigarh and Allahabad, staff officer at Southern Air Command, Trivandrum, and Headquarter Integrated Defence Staff in New Delhi. Akhtar also served as the security officer at Western Air Command, training coordinating officer at Ground Instructor's School and instructor at National Defence Academy, Pune. During the 2018 Kerala floods, he played a crucial role in coordinating rescue and relief operations while serving at Southern Air Command.

"I have already filed an online appeal before the tribunal. The entire process is neither fair nor transparent. The Election Commission has not done its job properly. It is disturbing that someone who held a diplomatic passport and served the nation for 17 years has been stripped of his voting rights and will have to prove his citizenship," he rued.

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