Kolkata: The West Bengal government has directed the police to bolster security measures statewide following the rollout of post-SIR electoral rolls on Saturday, according to officials.
Top authorities, such as the home secretary and director general of police would be present at the state secretariat to closely monitor developments throughout the day, sources told PTI.
Directives have been issued to police superintendents in key districts including North and South 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, Nadia, and several areas in north Bengal, one official revealed. Offices of the DGP and inspector general of police have mandated that all units maintain “extreme readiness.”
“All units have been asked to stay in a state of extreme
readiness in view of the publication of the final SIR list,” the official emphasized.
The precautionary steps stem from the timing of the voter list release, coinciding with impending festivals. “We are taking no chances as the post-SIR electoral rolls are being released today and there are Dol Yatra and Holi festivities next week,” another official stated.
The Election Commission (EC) commenced publishing the updated post-SIR electoral rolls across West Bengal in a phased manner on Saturday. Preliminary data from Bankura district highlighted substantial revisions, with approximately 1.18 lakh names struck off since the commencement of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
Physical copies of the revised rolls were displayed at district offices in places like Bankura and Cooch Behar. However, as per the most recent updates, the digital versions remained unavailable on the EC’s official portals and mobile application.
The SIR exercise, launched in late 2025, aimed to cleanse voter registries by removing duplicates, deceased individuals, migrants, and untraceable entries while incorporating legitimate new additions.