Kolkata: Roads were blocked, tyres burnt as protests erupted across several districts of West Bengal Tuesday over alleged harassment of people in the ongoing SIR exercise in the state, the police said.
The demonstrations were held in South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Jhargram and Purba Medinipur, prompting the police to strengthen force deployment in these areas, a senior officer said.
The protests erupted a day after the Supreme Court observed that the Special Intensive Revision process in West Bengal should be transparent and not cause inconvenience.
The top court also directed the Election Commission (EC) to display the names of those on the “logical discrepancies” list at gram panchayat bhavans and block offices, where documents and objections would be submitted.
The protesters alleged that despite possessing valid documents, elderly people and genuine voters were being served SIR notices in the garb of “logical discrepancies” and “mismatched with the voter list of 2002”, the year when the last SIR was conducted in the state.
In South 24 Parganas, protesters blocked roads in areas such as Dholahat and Polba, a senior police officer said, adding that teams of police personnel were rushed to the spots to clear the obstructions and prevent escalation.
“A few roads were blocked temporarily, but the situation is now under control. We are in constant touch with local representatives and ensuring that no adverse law-and-order situation develops,” a senior police officer of the district said.
Similar demonstrations were reported from parts of North 24 Parganas, Jhargram and Purba Medinipur districts.
In Purba Medinipur’s Haldia Debhog Gram Panchayat, locals alleged that around 650 of 1,248 voters from booth number 269 in Manoharpur received hearing notices, a majority of them belonging to minority communities.
A demonstrator claimed, “Most of those summoned at the hearing centre belonged to the Muslim community”.
A senior district police officer said, “The police have no role in issuing hearing notices. Our responsibility is limited to maintaining law and order. We are ensuring that protests remain peaceful and that essential services are not disrupted.”
A demonstrator claimed that SIR notices were served for “minor discrepancies”, and elderly people and ailing voters are “suffering due to the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll in the state”.
Another senior officer said the police have appealed to the people “not to spread rumours or take the law into their hands”.
“Any grievance related to the SIR process should be taken up with the appropriate authorities,” he said.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has been repeatedly raising concerns over the voter list revision process, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee writing to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to halt the exercise.
Protesters warned of intensified agitation if corrective steps are not taken, while police said they remain on alert across sensitive areas to prevent further unrest.
After the completion of the first phase, the draft electoral rolls, published on December 16 last year, showed the electorate shrinking from 7.66 crore to 7.08 crore, with over 58 lakh names deleted statewide.
According to Election Commission officials, the exclusions in the first phase were made on grounds such as death, permanent migration, duplication and non-submission of enumeration forms.
EC officials had said that voters labelled unmapped or discrepant were being given an opportunity to be heard, and the final rolls would be published February 14.
PTI
