In an unusual yet major blunder, Sunil Karmakar, a resident of Ramnagar village in Murshidabad in West Bengal, was fumed at the authorities after he received a voter ID with his name and personal information but with a dog’s picture on it. Sunil Karmakar had applied for correction in his earlier Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC), but in return, he got an EPIC with an even bigger error as a result of his application.
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However, Block Department officer has clarified that the card wasn’t the final one and the Photo has already been corrected. Karmakar will get a final voter ID card with the correct photo, he said.
While speaking to ANI, Karmakar said that he was called at Dulal Smriti School, and there, the officer handed him this updated voter ID without checking the picture. He said, “Yesterday, I was called at Dulal Smriti School and this voter ID was given to me. I saw the photo. The officer there signed and gave it to me but he didn’t see the photo. This is playing with my dignity. I will go to the BDO office and request that this should not happen again.”
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On this bizarre inaccuracy by the authorities, BDO clarified, “It’s not his final voter ID card. If there is a mistake, it’ll be corrected. As far as the dog’s photo is concerned, it might have been done by someone while filling online application. The photo has already been corrected. He’ll get the final ID card with the correct photo.”
The Chief Electoral Officer of Wets Bengal has informed that the error has already been rectified and Karmakar has been given an Elector information slip with the correct particulars, and a corrected EPIC is being issued. The official also said that an enquiry has been conducted and action is being taken against the officials responsible for this.
One official involved with correcting voter ID-related errors said that the error was already spotted earlier when the draft voters’ list was published, but he had no idea how it remained uncorrected. He said that after seeing the error, he had rushed to Karmakar’s house and had obtained a photograph of the man, but somehow the card got printed with the dog’s photograph.