A tense incident has been reported from the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, where a Booth Level Officer (BLO) involved in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has alleged that he was threatened by a local political activist over a disagreement regarding the filling of a voter enumeration form. The BLO, identified as Deepak Mahato, said he is now living in “fear” following the incident, which occurred during the time-bound electoral exercise.
Mahato recounted that the threat originated from “a person from the party” after the BLO pointed out a mistake in the form concerning a 97-year-old voter. “He threatened me over the phone… The person who threatened me on phone was from party. I have informed my seniors. I think he will understand his fault. I am now in fear,” Mahato stated, describing the intimidation he experienced.
The dispute centered on the inclusion of the nonagenarian voter’s name, which was reportedly missing from the last SIR conducted in the state in 2002. Mahato alleged that the accused individual repeatedly pressured him to ensure the voter’s name was added to the roll, escalating the dispute by allegedly threatening to vandalise and set fire to the BLO’s house.
The accused was identified as Jamirul Islam Molla, a man considered an active TMC worker in the Nazat area of Basirhat. Following the intimidation, Mahato initially filed a written complaint with the Block Development Officer (BDO) before escalating the matter by approaching the Najat Police Station.
A senior police officer confirmed that Molla was subsequently arrested on Saturday night and has been charged under relevant sections of the law for threatening a government official and obstructing him from performing his official duties.
The accused has since been produced before a Basirhat court. The police investigation is being aided by a purported audio clip of the telephonic conversation between Molla and the BLO, which has also circulated on social media. Locals informed reporters that Molla is known to be closely associated with the TMC panchayat pradhan of the area and was also working as a booth-level agent appointed by the ruling party.
