The office of the block development officer at Goalpokher-II in West Bengal’s North Dinajpur district was vandalised on Thursday, with protesters setting fire to files and other materials outside the building during demonstrations against hearings under the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, The Times of India reported.
North Dinajpur district’s Superintendent of Police Jobi Thomas told the newspaper that ten persons have been detained in connection with the violence.
Six police personnel, including the inspector-in-charge of the police station, were injured in the incident and two of them were hospitalised, he added.
The state’s draft electoral rolls were published on December 16. They showed that more than 58 lakh voters were removed after being marked dead, shifted or absent. In addition, 31 lakh voters were “unmapped”, or not found on the 2002 rolls, when the last special intensive revision was held.
The revision exercise is currently in the claims and objections stage in the state, during which unmapped voters are being called for personal hearings.
The second phase of the hearing process under the revision exercise in West Bengal is being held in 294 Assembly constituencies and will continue till February 7. A final electoral roll will be published on February 14.
As part of this process, the block development officer has been issuing notices to voters for hearings.
On Thursday, around 500 hearings were scheduled after 11 am, and about 50 to 60 persons had arrived at the office for this, The Times of India reported.
According to a complaint filed by the Block Development Officer at the Chakulia police station, a group of around 300 persons allegedly entered the office forcibly, damaged furniture, electronic equipment and official documents. They also set fire to files and other materials after bringing them out of the building, the newspaper reported.
Thomas told The Times of India that the agitators also blocked the road in front of the office.
“We tried to lift the blockade,” Thomas was quoted as saying. “But the public was agitated and attacked the police. We did lathicharge to disperse the mob.”
This came a day after a block development officer was assaulted in Farakka in Murshidabad district during protests linked to the voter roll revision exercise.
In Farakka, a group allegedly threw chairs at the block development officer after barging into his office and attempting to ransack the room, The Times of India reported.
Two persons have been arrested in the case.
West Bengal is expected to head for Assembly elections in the next three to four months.
Besides West Bengal, the special intensive revision of electoral rolls is underway in 11 other states and Union Territories.
In Bihar, where the revision was completed ahead of the Assembly polls in November, at least 47 lakh voters were excluded from the final electoral roll published on September 30.
Concerns had been raised after the announcement in Bihar that the exercise could remove eligible voters from the roll.
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