The Election Commission recently removed 7 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel from the election duty in West Bengal after they attended an Iftar Party in the Samserganj area of Murshidabad district. The personnel attended the Iftar party in the first week of March 2026 in the region, which witnessed communal violence in 2025.
Three of the CAPF personnel were sent to a seven-day paramilitary jail custody. Two of them were issued a formal reprimand as a warning. Departmental proceedings were initiated against the remaining two CAPF personnel, after which they may face punishment.
The Election Commission officials reminded the CAPF personnel deployed on election duty in West Bengal not to accept invitations, gifts, or any hospitality during election duties. The Commission has also ramped up surveillance with GPS tracking and surprise checks to ensure compliance with rules and maintenance of trust during elections. The poll body has ordered geo-tagging of all vehicles in the CAPF convoys, mandatory logging of interactions and movements, and surprise checks on the activities of personnel.
The EC is using the incident as an example to train the CAPF personnel. The incident has been included in pre-deployment training conducted by company commandants across CAPF units, serving as a real-world cautionary example. It is now cited by company commandants in all training sessions before deployment.
