One major vulnerability that has come to light during the current Special Intensive Revision of voters in West Bengal is that the Chief Electoral Officer’s office has found that 14 people possess the incredible dual documentation: Indian voters' ID cards and Bangladeshi passports. After scrutinising a number of voters and finding them suspicious, they contacted the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office in Kolkata. They found that they had indeed obtained dual documents, thus violating citizenship rules.
The investigation into these 14 individuals — located across North 24 Parganas, Nadia, and East Midnapore — shows a common pattern: they entered West Bengal on legitimate visas but simply never left once their stay expired. Instead of returning to Bangladesh, they stayed back and successfully embedded themselves in the system, acquiring Indian identity documents like the EPIC card. With the final voters' list set for publication on February 14, an official within the CEO’s office confirmed that they have already urged the Election Commission of India to strike these names from the rolls immediately. Beyond losing their voting rights, these individuals now face legal action from law enforcement for document fraud and visa overstaying.
This case has shed light on a sophisticated, four-stage "identity manufacturing" pipeline that both the West Bengal Police and the Enforcement Directorate have been trying to dismantle over the past year. According to investigators, the process starts with illegal infiltrators being funneled into safe houses in border villages. From there, local racketeers help them secure basic papers like birth certificates or ration cards. Once those are in hand, the infiltrators can easily apply for Aadhaar and PAN cards, eventually culminating in the acquisition of a fake Indian passport. The fact that these 14 voters managed to slip through the cracks highlights just how deeply these rackets have managed to infiltrate local administrative levels in border districts.
Also read: Man on oxygen support dies after SIR hearing in Bengal
Follow us
