Kolkata, March 10 (IANS) West Bengal Police on Tuesday refuted allegations made by Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari regarding handling of postal ballots by reserve officers of the state police for upcoming Assembly polls.

In a post on X, West Bengal Police said, “The allegation raised is strongly refuted.

There is no scope for the collection of Postal Ballots (PB) from police personnel by Reserve Officers. PBs are issued only by the Presiding Officer at the Postal Voting Centre (PVC). After casting their vote, the PB is sealed by the voter in the prescribed envelope and dropped in the designated drop box at the PVC. The entire process is video-graphed.”

The response from the state police came days after Suvendu Adhikari targeted the Mamata Banerjee government for violating norms after a district administration assigned handling of postal ballots to the West Bengal Police Welfare Organisation.

Using his X handle, Adhikari on Sunday said such a move undermines the very foundations of democracy and urged the Election Commission to take cognisance of the matter.

Rejecting his claims, the Bengal Police said, “The procedure followed is as below: Police personnel deployed outside their constituency on election duty exercise their franchise through the Postal Ballot facility for Absentee Voters in Essential Services (AVES) by applying through Form 12D. The Police Nodal Officer forwards the applications to the concerned Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officer of the constituency where the personnel are registered voters for verification.”

The post continued, “Approved voters receive SMS intimation regarding the venue, date and time of voting at the PVC. Details of the arrangements are also published on the official website of the District Election Officer.”

According to the state police, PVCs are set up at the Returning Officer headquarters where police personnel report.

After due identification in the presence of polling agents of political parties, eligible personnel cast their votes through postal ballot at the PVC, ensuring participation in the democratic process in a transparent manner. There is no possibility of Postal Ballots being taken out of the PVC or being collected by Reserve Officers of Police,” said the post.

–IANS

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