EC directs DEO to lodge FIR against 4 officials; logical discrepancies drop from 16.3 mn to 9.4 mn in WB

The election commission has directed the district election officers (DEOs) of two districts in West Bengal to book four government officials and a data entry operator, for adding names of fictitious voters in the electoral roll and compromising data security, in August 2025.

“The district magistrates (who double up as DEOs) of South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore have been directed to lodge FIRs against two electoral registration officers (EROs), two assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) and a data entry operator,” said a senior poll panel official.

The poll panel, during a sample checking of applications from new voters in the state, had found that the two EROs accepted a large number of Form 6 from alleged fictitious voters, officials aware of the developments said.

Further enquiry revealed that the mandatory verification by the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were also allegedly not done in those cases. The officers also provided user access to ERO Net, a centralised system that helps election officials with electoral roll management, to unauthorised users.

“The EC had then directed that the officers should be suspended and suitable disciplinary proceedings be initiated against them without delay. In addition, FIRs must be lodged against the erring EROs and AEROs for their action which potentially amounts to criminal misconduct. Furthermore, FIR shall also be lodged against the casual data entry operator,” the EC official said.

On the directions of the EC the West Bengal government had to suspend four officers - two EROs and two AEROs. The data entry operator was taken off from election duty. But FIRs were not lodged.

Meanwhile a senior official of the poll panel said that the number of voters with logical discrepancies in West Bengal has come down from 16.3 million to around 9.4 million after scrutiny and removal of minor discrepancies such as errors in spellings.