A series of unusual discrepancies, including a birth certificate allegedly issued before the person’s birth, have surfaced during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal, sources in the Election Commission of India (ECI) said.
During the final stage of document verification, officials detected a case where a birth certificate was issued before the individual’s date of birth. Records showed that the person was born on March 6, 1993, while the birth certificate had been issued on March 4, 1993.
Taking serious note of the anomaly, the Commission questioned how a birth certificate could be generated before birth. It directed the concerned Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) to conduct a detailed probe and initiate legal action. Sources indicated that the individual’s name may be excluded from the final voter list after the investigation.
In another case, Alauddin Sheikh from Part No. 55 of Memari in East Burdwan allegedly submitted incorrect information in his enumeration form. Instead of mentioning his date of birth, he reportedly wrote “xx/xx/1987.” The Commission has ordered legal action against him for providing false and concealed information.
Officials also found irregularities in forms submitted by 10 individuals who listed the same person as their father under a single part number. Documents suggested that the gap between the births of two children of the same parents was only 26 days, which raised serious doubts about the authenticity of the entries.
A similar discrepancy was detected in Metiaburuj, where 10 people again listed the same father, identified in records as Abdul Hai or Abdul Hai Sheikh, with Monowara Bibi named as the mother. The matter came to light after officials found identical part and serial numbers in the forms.
According to the records, the children’s birth years ranged between 1985 and 2004. However, two entries showed dates of December 5, 1990, and January 1, 1991 — a gap of less than one month between births, which officials described as impossible.
The state Chief Electoral Officer has directed the concerned EROs to carry out a detailed investigation into the discrepancies. The Commission stated that strict legal action will be taken wherever irregularities are confirmed.
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