(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Election Commission, on Wednesday, in a letter to Kolkata Police, flagged a security breach incident at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal on 24 November amid the ongoing SIR process in the state, and sought a report within 48 hours.

The poll body directed police authorities to take all possible measures to ensure safety and security of officers and staff posted in the office of the CEO, at their residences and while commuting to and fro.

“The Commission further directs that adequate security classification shall be done on account of sensitivity involved due to SIR activities and forthcoming elections in the State and ensure that no untoward incident occurs again,” the EC mentioned in the letter.

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EC flags security breach at CEO office, seeks report firm Kolkata Police within 48 hours

In the letter, EC secretary Sujeet Kumar Mishra said the existing security at the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal appeared to be inadequate to handle the situation.

What happened at the Bengal CEO office?

Alleging "excessive work pressure" and "unmanageable workload" due to the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a section of booth-level officers (BLOs) held a 30-hour demonstration outside the CEO's office till Tuesday evening, 25 November, mentioned a report by news wire PTI.

SIR in Bengal

Earlier today, the Election Commission said that approximately 14 lakh SIR enumeration forms have so far been identified as“uncollectable in West Bengal.

An official said that these voters were either absentee, duplicate, deceased, or had permanently moved.“As of Tuesday noon, the number stood at 13.92 lakh,” he mentioned.“We expect this figure to continue rising daily as more updates roll in.” This figure rose sharply from 10.33 lakh on Monday evening, reported PTI.

EC to meet TMC delegation

On Tuesday, 25 November, the Election Commission sent a letter to the Trinamool Congres for a meeting on Friday after the Mamata Banerjee- led party sought time with the poll panel.

In a letter to party chief Mamata Banerjee, the Election Commission stated that a Trinamool delegation comprising its authorised representative and four others can meet its top brass at 11 am on Friday, as per reports from news agencies.

The scheduled interaction is set to happen days after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his“immediate intervention” into two recent issues. In another letter dated 20 November, Mamata Banerjee had requested the CEC Gyanesh Kumar to immediately halt the SIR exercise in the state, claiming it as“chaotic, coercive and dangerous”.

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