Bengal SIR: Police threaten to arrest woman

Kolkata: A voter-list dispute in West Bengal has taken a disturbing turn, with police allegedly threatening to arrest a homemaker even as her challenge against the deletion of her name remains pending before an appellate tribunal.

Mahasin Khatoon, a resident of Uttar Bankata in Bankura district, said a police team visited her home on August 3 and questioned her citizenship after finding that her name was missing from the electoral roll. The officers allegedly warned that she could be arrested and told her they would return within a few days. She said she was spared arrest that day because she was holding her young child.

Khatoon’s name was removed from the voter list during the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. She subsequently approached an appellate tribunal established pursuant to the Supreme Court's directions to challenge the deletion. Her petition was accepted on June 3, but the tribunal has yet to deliver its final decision.

The alleged police action has raised concerns over the treatment of ordinary voters whose names have been excluded from the electoral rolls while their appeals are still being examined.

Police have defended the visits, saying officers are checking the homes of people whose applications remain unresolved before the tribunal. They have also placed the responsibility for resolving the issue on Khatoon herself.

The incident has intensified concerns in Bengal over the consequences of the voter-roll revision process, with allegations of police pressure against affected residents adding a fresh political and social dimension to the controversy.