A youth who became a familiar face on social media for his participation in the “July Revolution” in Bangladesh that toppled the Sheikh Hasina government has been identified as a voter in Kakdwip, South 24-Parganas, raising questions on his nationality.
Newton Das, 32, known as a TMC activist in Kakdwip, became an embarrassment for the ruling party after his photos and videos from the Dhaka protests went viral. Newton is known to be close to Debasish Das, a TMC youth wing leader.
The matter came to light after local BJP leaders identified Newton. Tapan Das, Newton’s elder brother, admitted that Newton is a Bangladeshi national and a registered voter there.
Tapan said Newton had moved to Kakdwip from Bangladesh as a teenager and completed his schooling from Namkhana. It was during this period that Newton came in touch with some Trinamool leaders. Tapan confirmed that their parents are not Indian voters.
Debasish, one of the TMC leaders Newton was seen with on Facebook, cutting a cake at a birthday party, said: “Newton was my classmate but we lost contact for years. I met him again in 2021. He is well known to me. So I attended the birthday party.”
Newton’s claim to fame became his presence at an anti-quota rally in Bangladesh last year. But in a video released on Sunday, Newton claimed his footage in the anti-government protests in Bangladesh was “fake”.
“I have been a voter in Kakdwip since 2014. I have a proper Aadhaar card as well. In 2016, I voted for Trinamool candidate Manturam Pakhira. But in 2017, I lost my voter card, and in 2018, with the support of the local MLA, I got a new one,” he said.
He added: “In 2024, as an inheritor to ancestral property, I came to Bangladesh, where I was unwillingly caught up in the July revolution.”
The BJP alleged that Newton was among “countless” Bangladeshi nationals who have Indian voter cards through forged documents.
BJP Jagannath Chattopadhyay said: “We have not lodged a specific complaint about Newton, but our leader Suvendu Adhikari raised a broader concern about similar irregularities. There have been serious lapses in the enrollment of voters based on forged papers, which he has brought to the Election Commission’s attention.”
Officials from the election wing of South 24-Parganas declined comment.
“No specific complaint has been lodged on this matter so far,” one official said.