Bengal SIR, Jan. 8 -- The office of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer has clarified that SIR hearing summonses to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, cricketer Mohammed Shami and Bengali actor-turned-MP Dev were part of a routine electoral verification process, and not targeted actions.

Notices issued to these well-known personalities had sparked a controversy in the poll-bound state.

According to the clarification issued by the CEO on Wednesday, scrutiny of the enumeration forms revealed that the mandatory linkage columns had been left blank by the electors concerned.

Such cases automatically call for a hearing, and the individuals were summoned along with several other similarly placed electors, as per the Election Commission's notific...