We are the humans of 'Bhoot Bangla', say 111 central Kolkata voters after SIR's knockout punch

KOLKATA: Social media posts drawing attention to a 'Bhoot Bangla in Kolkata' have gone viral over the past couple of days questioning whether an address under Chowringhee constituency, where 111 voters belonging to a "special community" have been deleted, exists at all. Several BJP handles have latched on to the narrative and posted about this address with "invented voters" and commenting that "now virtual voters can have virtual addresses in Bengal".

TOI on Tuesday visited the address and spoke to the deleted voters who have resided at 28/1 Giri Babu Lane under Ward 44 (Part number 19) for decades. Spread over 24 cottahs, the address is a sprawling slum tucked into a lane beside Islamia Hospital on Central Avenue. The address has at least 700 voters.





"We have come to know that they have labelled our home 'Bhoot Bangla'. This is very unfortunate. This is a genuine address. Human beings live here. We are all legitimate voters with valid documents," said Md Sarfaraz, 39, whose father is among those struck off the rolls. According to locals, not 111, at least 140 residents have had their voting rights taken away.

Abdul Sattar, 61, has lived at this address since birth. His name has been deleted even though his sons' names have been included. "My name was on the 2002 electoral roll. I have cast my vote in every election since I became eligible. During hearing, I submitted the requested documents, but I still found my name deleted in Friday's list," said Sattar.

Shagufta Yasmin, 32, said she shifted here after her marriage 10 years ago. "Previously, all my documents had the Belgachhia address of my parents. After marriage, I changed them to my in-laws' address. In the SIR form, I had mapped myself to my father, whose name was there on the 2002 roll. During hearing I submitted all documents, including birth certificate, educational certificates and my father's documents. It is natural for a woman's address to change after marriage, yet my name has been deleted," she said.

Harassment & injustice: 'Bhoot Bangla' voters

Md Ishtekhar, 38, said he has been living at 28/1 Giri Babu Lane since birth. "My father and grandfather lived here too. During hearing, I submitted all documents, including my passport. Still, my name has been deleted. This is harassment and injustice," he said.

Md Manzoor, 42, has also been living here since birth. "My name was on the 2002 rolls. Both my parents were also there, yet I was called for hearing. I submitted all my documents, but my name was deleted. Strangely, my daughter's name has been included," he said.

Another resident, Sabia Bano, said there was a discrepancy in the spelling of her name in her voter ID and other documents, for which she was called to a hearing. "I provided the correct spelling during the hearing process but my name is not on the list," she rued.

Trinamool candidate from Chowringhee, Nayna Bandyopadhyay, who has served as MLA from this constituency since 2014, pointed out that the 111 deleted voters are all from a poor background but have lived at 28/1 Giri Babu Lane for several years. "Despite attending the hearing and submitting all relevant documents, their names have been deleted.

There are cases where parents' names have been deleted while the names of their sons and daughters have been included," she said.
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