On Wednesday (14th January), a mob led by TMC MLA Manirul Islam ransacked the Farakka Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) office in West Bengal. The TMC leader-led mob disrupted the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing of the voter list. Before the mob vandalised the Block Development Office (BDO) office in Murshidabad district’s Farakka, Manirul Islam reportedly instigated a mob by saying that the Election Commission officials were not asking for documents of Hindus but only those of Muslims.
“Objections are being raised for Rahim but not for Ram. The EC cannot divide voters by religion,” Manirul Islam said.
In the mayhem unleashed by the TMC MLA-led mob, an election official sustained injury. The mob damaged furniture and scattered files. Reports say that the TMC accused the Election Commission of ‘bias’ in the SIR process. The TMC MLA-led mob vandalised the BDO office while around 100 Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) were protesting in front of the BDO office. These BLOs had tendered their resignation recently, citing unbearable workload.
“They are not asking papers from Ram , they are asking papers from Rahim , we will not tolerate this . “
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) January 15, 2026
MANIRUL ISLAM TMC MLA before he was accused of ransacking a BDO in Bengal protesting submission of form 7 that seeks deletion of illegal voters.
Government officials suffered… pic.twitter.com/p84zZccc41
Interestingly, the Farakka BLOs who have resigned have claimed that in the name of SIR hearings, people from the ‘minority community’, to be specific, Muslims, were being selectively harassed. The BLOs argued that if SIR hearings are to be held, they should be held in the villages of the voters instead of block development offices.
Syed Taj Islam, a protesting BLO, said, “In my Muslim-dominated booth, 300 notices were issued. In my colleague’s Hindu-dominated booth, there were none. Voters who corrected names in 2002 according to EC rules are now being asked for impossible-to-find old documents.”
Meanwhile, Farakka BDO Junaid Ahamed has lodged a complaint. The BDO stated that a mob vandalised his office at around 1:30 pm when the SIR hearings were underway. The mob barged into multiple official rooms and damaged government property in the presence of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), the Joint BDO, the Officer-in-Charge (Election) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs). In this attack, one AERO suffered injuries while trying to protect himself.
Based on the complaint filed by BDO Junaid Ahamed, Farakka Police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act. So far, two people have been arrested.
The incident has triggered political reactions. In this vein, BJP MLA Gouri Sankar Ghosh said, “Today, Farakka MLA Manirul Islam vandalised the block office. How can a public representative vandalise property? Who gave him the right to do so? Are they not Indian citizens, or are they Bangladeshis who think they can vandalise a block office in India? The public is ready to give them a befitting reply. In the 2026 elections, whether it’s Manirul or someone else, they will get their answer from the public.”
“Mamata Banerjee is instigating her party cadres across the state to riot, commit violence, and destroy property. All these actions are carried out under Mamata Banerjee’s instructions. And wherever there was corruption, misconduct, or destruction in Bengal, all of it happened under Mamata’s orders. And even today’s actions were carried out on Mamata’s instructions,” he added.
