TMC MLA admits issuing voter IDs to Bangladeshi infiltrators for ₹10,000; Names officials involved

Trinamool Congress MLA Manturam Pakhira from Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas district has acknowledged that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh are obtaining identity cards and voter registration by paying ₹10,000 each. The MLA revealed that local officials, including employees from the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) and Block Development Officer (BDO) offices, are involved in facilitating these transactions.

According to Pakhira, the issuance of voter cards to Bangladeshi citizens is not limited to a few individuals but is orchestrated by an organized network. He named the Gram Panchayat areas of Ramkrishna, Swami Vivekananda, and Pratapdityanagar as places where a sudden increase in voter registrations has been recorded. Many Bangladeshi fishermen, who have lived in these areas for years, have reportedly secured citizenship documents through intermediaries.

The MLA submitted a list containing approximately 6,000 suspicious voters to the Kakdwip administration for further scrutiny. During preliminary investigations, some individuals admitted to paying money to have their names added to the voter lists. A local resident, Sujan Sarkar, stated, “I have been living here for 35-36 years. I don’t have a birth certificate, but I have an Aadhaar card. Earlier, my name was not there, but after paying money, it got added.”

Further inquiries found that thousands of Muslim Bangladeshi infiltrators possess Indian identity documents, including voter IDs, raising concerns about internal security. Another individual shared that after paying ₹10,000 to the Trinamool party, his name was included in the voter list four to five years ago, despite earlier attempts to register without success.

Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari called for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, alleging the involvement of officials like SDO Madhusudan Mandal and District Magistrate Sumit Gupta in the matter. He stated that the fraudulent issuance of identity documents is happening in an organized manner.

Responding to the allegations, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Arur Mukherjee said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already issued strict instructions against fake voters. FIRs have been registered against those accused, and investigations into the case are ongoing.