Man held for threatening BLO over dispute in filling up voter's SIR form

Kolkata, Nov 23 (PTI) A man was arrested for allegedly threatening a booth-level officer (BLO) over a dispute in filling up the enumeration form of a 97-year-old voter in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, police said on Sunday. The accused, identified as Jamirul Islam Molla, considered an active TMC worker at Nazat in Basirhat, had allegedly threatened the BLO with dire consequences after the nonagenarian's name was found missing in the voters' list of 2002, the year when the last SIR was conducted in the state, a senior officer said.

BLO Deepak Mahato had first submitted a written complaint to the Block Development Officer and later lodged a complaint at Nazat Police Station, alleging that Molla threatened him over the phone, he said.

"Molla was arrested on Saturday night, and a case has been registered for threatening a government official and obstructing him from performing his duties. The accused has been produced before a Basirhat court," the officer said.

Locals claimed that the accused is close to the TMC panchayat pradhan of the area and was also working as a booth-level agent appointed by the ruling party.

A purported audio clip of the telephonic conversation between Molla and the BLO went viral on social media.

Mahato also claimed that Molla repeatedly pressured him to somehow add the name of the 97-year-old voter to the electoral roll, and threatened him with vandalising his house and setting it on fire.

The BLO claimed that he felt intimidated and feared, the officer said. PTI BSM BDC