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Tension flared in Mathabhanga’s Pachagar Gram Panchayat area on Monday after locals allegedly detained a Booth Level Officer (BLO) over a technical glitch in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The incident occurred in the Dangkoba area under Mathabhanga Block 1, where residents claimed that 425 voter names had “disappeared” from the rolls in Booths 243 and 244.
According to locals, panic spread when the BLO’s online upload of the voters’ details showed incomplete information — specifically, the gender field was not appearing in the system. Although the Election Commission’s official website still displayed the full voter list, confirming all 425 names, residents accused the BLO of mishandling the upload and blocking their voter status.
“The voters are demanding that they want to see a successful completion of the procedure on the BLO App and the website, but that is a time-consuming process. They detained me unless the due procedure was complete. But what I am failing to explain to them is that it is a time-consuming process and will be cleared when the glitch in the election commission website is solved,” said Tapan Kumar Roy, BLO of booth number 243 and 244 in Mathabhanga Block 1.
The BLO told locals that the issue was a backend glitch and would be resolved after November 26, once the system update was complete. “The BLO also assured us that the remaining details would be uploaded through the app,” said a resident.
However, tensions escalated when a local resident, identified as Rafiqul Islam, confronted the officer, demanding to know why the uploads were not showing as “successful” and whether affected residents would be allowed to vote.
“First we filled up the forms, but our names were not on the website. At least 425 names were not on the list even after the form uplink was successful, which is why we wanted to know what is the cause of this error. We are worried,” said Rafiqul Islam, a resident of Pachagar in Coochbehar district.
Locals alleged that Rafiqul and a group of locals detained the BLO and refused to let him leave. Following repeated calls from the officer, officials from the administration and Mathabhanga police station rushed to the spot. Police intervened and dispersed the crowd.
The BLO maintained that while the system was temporarily failing to reflect successful uploads, the issue was technical and expected to be resolved within days. Despite this assurance, some residents insisted on holding the officer responsible.
The incident highlights rising public anxiety and growing pressure on ground-level staff as technical glitches continue to disrupt the SIR revision process across several parts of West Bengal.
