Abhishek Shukla, the subdivisional officer of Gangarampur in South Dinajpur district, received a notice for a verification hearing of the ongoing SIR (special intensive revision) of electoral roll due to a discrepancy in the spelling of his name in the voter list.

Obeying the schedule, Shukla appeared for the hearing at the Banshihari BDO office of the district on Friday afternoon.

In early 2025, Shukla assumed the charge as the SDO of Gangarampur. Though originally from Uttar Pradesh, he registered his name in the electoral roll of South Dinajpur soon after joining the district.

“There was a mistake in the spelling of my name in the 2002 voter list (in Uttar Pradesh). Because of that, I was called for an SIR hearing. I attended the hearing and submitted all documents sought by the Election Commission,” said Shukla.

He attended the hearing and returned to his office for work, he added.

Officials clarified that under the SIR process, anyone may be called for a hearing. Participation is mandatory if a notice is issued.

The issue has led to political reactions in the district.

BJP district president Swarup Chowdhury said the case proved that the rules were same for everyone.

“A hearing does not mean deletion of a name. It is simply meant to identify and correct discrepancies,” he said.

Subhash Bhowal, the district Trinamool president, said while a government officer could easily manage the logistics to attend a hearing, migrant workers or people living outside the state might not be able to do so at short notice, either because of time or money or both.

“These hearing notices for small discrepancies are causing unnecessary harassment to ordinary citizens and increasing resentment against election officials,” he said.

Work resumes

Voter hearings resumed at the Goalpokher-II BDO office in Chakulia of North Dinajpur on Saturday, two days after the violence and arson.

Violence had erupted on Thursday when a mob in Chakulia staged a protest, accusing authorities of continuous harassment during the “second phase” of SIR hearings. The mob attacked the BDO office, vandalised multiple rooms and set fire to government documents, computers and furniture.

On Saturday morning, the BDO office was cordoned off, a heavy deployment of police and RAF personnel keeping vigil. Entry to the office premises was allowed only after ID verification of staff and scrutiny of hearing-related documents of visitors. Apart from SIR-related work, footfall for other official purposes was minimal.

“SIR hearings resumed today (Saturday) and were smooth. Efforts are on to restore normal functioning of other departments,” said Islampur SDO Ankita Agarwal.

Police arrested another person on Friday night in connection with the violence, taking the total number of arrests to 20. “We are in search of some others,” said Joby Thomas, SP of Islampur police district.