Malda police on Tuesday divulged that they recently detained nine persons, including two women, for allegedly collecting data, including political beliefs, from households without authorisation.

The “suspicious” activity of the surveyors came under the scanner after chief minister Mamata Banerjee last week alerted against such “unauthorised data collection” from residents of Bengal with “certain motives”.

According to police sources, those detained introduced themselves as representatives of a Haryana-based firm engaged to conduct house-to-house surveys.

They were released after cops interrogated them.

During the interrogation, the nine revealed they visited households in Kushmai and Nehalpur villages under the Chanchal police station of Malda district.

“They came to our house and sought details, including our sources of income, number of family members, their ages, government grants we received, our Aadhaar and EPIC details and even our political opinions,” said a resident.

“Initially, we entertained them, but when they asked about our political views, we got suspicious and informed our neighbours and the police,” she added.

Mamata, while speaking at an administrative review meeting of all eight north Bengal districts at Uttarkanya, the state’s branch secretariat in Siliguri, had referred to
such a “survey.”

“Some people are coming from neighbouring states and collecting personal details of residents of our state. Let me be clear. No one should share such details with anybody who is not authorised to collect such information. The police and the administration should also be on the alert,” she had said.

A Chanchal police officer said that the nine detainees had said they got ₹15,000 to ₹17,000 a month for collecting such data and providing it to the Haryana-based firm.

The police also learnt that the so-called surveyors were asked to download an app on their cell phones to upload the data.

“Though they were released, a case has been registered against the Haryana firm,” said the officer. “We also communicated with the firm and their representatives said the data was collected for political purposes.”

The TMC leadership alleged that the BJP engaged the firm, which the latter denied.

“We suspect the BJP engaged such private agencies to collect the data for political purposes. Such activities should be stopped,” said Subhamay Bose, a district vice-president of the TMC
in Malda.

Ajay Ganguly, the BJP chief of Malda south organisational district, brushed aside the charge. “We have nothing to do with such activities. Ours is a political party that believes in mass contact. Trinamool uses such private agencies to draw up political strategies,” he said.