West Bengal Police denied claims made by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari about reserve officers mishandling postal ballots for the upcoming Assembly polls. The police clarified that postal ballots are issued only by the Presiding Officer at the Postal Voting Centre and are dropped in designated drop boxes after voting, with the entire process being video-graphed.
Suvendu Adhikari had criticized the Mamata Banerjee government for assigning postal ballot handling to the West Bengal Police Welfare Organisation. Adhikari expressed concerns about democracy’s integrity and urged the Election Commission to address the issue. In response, the Bengal Police explained that police personnel outside their constituencies vote through postal ballots for Absentee Voters in Essential Services by following a specific procedure.
The police further detailed that approved voters are notified via SMS about the voting venue, date, and time at the Postal Voting Centre. The arrangements are also published on the District Election Officer’s official website. Postal Voting Centres are established at Returning Officer headquarters, where police personnel cast their votes transparently in the presence of political party agents, ensuring the integrity of the democratic process.
