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ECI expresses concern over security of officers, staff at Bengal CEO's office; seeks action taken report

KOLKATA: Expressing serious concern over the safety and security of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), other officers and staff, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has sought an action taken report (ATR) from Manoj Verma, Commissioner of Police (CP), Kolkata, within 48 hours. Surjeet Kumar Mishra, ECI secretary, on Wednesday, has written a letter to Verma, stating, an action taken report may be sent to the commission within 48 hours of receipt of this letter. The national poll body is concerned about the protest programme inside the CEO Manoj Agarwals office at B D Bag for about 30 hours since Monday afternoon. A section of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) under the banner of BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee, backed by the ruling Trinamool Congress in the State, organised a march between Sealdah and the CEO office on Monday, protesting against the excessive work pressure triggered by the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls duty. On Monday night, they had gheraoed the CEOs chamber and refused to move. The following morning, the standoff continued. SIR row: ECI to appoint observers to keep watch on section of BLOs in West Bengal after alleged negligence Additional CEO Dibyendu Das spoke to the 10-member representatives and asked them to wait in his chamber, but they declined, saying they would remain outside the CEOs office. The secretary in its letter to Verma has strongly criticised the protest programme, saying, I am directed to state that it has come to the notice of the Election Commission of India that on 24.11.2025, a serious security breach has occurred at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, which has also been widely reported in the Media. The existing security in the office of the CEO appeared to be inadequate to handle the situation, which could lead to a threat to the safety and security of the Chief Electoral Officer, Additional Chief Electoral Officers, Joint Chief Electoral Officers, Deputy Chief Electoral Officers and staff working in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer. Mamata slams ECI after one more BLO dies by suicide in West Bengal; alleges 'unbearable SIR pressure' The commission has taken a serious view of the incident and directs that the Police authorities should take all possible measures to ensure the safety and security of officers and staff posted in the office of the CEO, at their residences and while commuting to and fro. The commission further directs that adequate security classification shall be done on account of the sensitivity involved due to SIR activities and forthcoming elections in the state, and ensure that no untoward incident occurs again, the letter stated. The Opposition parties, BJP and CPI-M, alleged that hardly 50 BLOs were seen in the protest programme at the CEO office, and the rest were from the Trinamool Congress-backed state government employees union. On Tuesday morning, police were deployed in large numbers to cordon off the area, stopping anyone other than staff from entering the building. Barricades were tied together with ropes, and officers checked the IDs of every person entering. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Division) Indira Mukherjee also visited the spot but declined to comment on the matter. Despite the sit-in, several BLOs continued uploading enumeration forms digitally from the dharna spot. ECI may introduce AI-based voter list verification in West Bengal amid intensive revision