Siliguri, March 10 -- Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders and workers have once again found 'ghost voters' in Siliguri and Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad area. The discovery of multiple voters with the same Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers has sparked alarm among party leaders.
The latest revelations involve Ward 13 of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC), where two voters were found sharing the same EPIC number. Kirandevi Khandenwal, a 56-year-old resident of Punjabi Para in Ward 13, has her name registered in part number 70, serial number 280 of the voter list. However, a scrutiny of her voter card revealed that Inderchand, a resident of Bikaner, Rajasthan, was also registered with the same EPIC number in Rajasthan's voter list under part number 75, serial number 1210.
Manik Dey, the ward councillor and senior TMC leader said: "This is a planned move by the BJP and we are certain that more such cases will emerge.
The Election Commission must investigate this matter seriously."
Further scrutiny revealed similar discrepancies involving residents of Lower Bagdogra. Three individuals from the area were found to have their names registered in two different voter lists across different states with the same EPIC number.
Amit Kumar Singh, a resident of Lower Bagdogra, was listed in both Lower Bagdogra and Delhi. Mona Hasan Alam was registered in voter lists in both Bihar and Lower Bagdogra, while Birendra Kumar appeared in the voter lists of both Uttar Pradesh and Lower Bagdogra.
Earlier reports had surfaced regarding similar irregularities in Ward 15, Shiv Mandir and the Dabgram-Fulbari Assembly area.
Papiya Ghosh, the president of Darjeeling District TMC (Plains), said: "We are thoroughly investigating the issue and more names are expected to surface in the coming days.
We will prepare a comprehensive report on these ghost voters," she said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.