Kolkata, April 22 (IANS) West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Wednesday termed reports an arrest warrant being issued against Bengali poet Srijato Bandyopadhyay as “fake news”.

Strict legal action will be taken against those found responsible for spreading false and unverified information, he warned.

“The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, strongly condemns the deliberate spread of misinformation and fake news by certain individuals and sections of the media regarding the electoral process,” the CEO said in a X post.

“Such actions are not only misleading but also undermine public trust in democratic institutions. Strict legal action will be initiated against those found responsible for disseminating false and unverified information,” it added.

On Wednesday morning, news in a section of the media that an arrest warrant has been issued against renowned poet Bandyopadhyay. It was said that the court had issued this arrest warrant in connection with an old case, filed by the BJP and a Hindu outfit over writing an old poem on Hindutva. The news of the poet’s “impending arrest” created a huge stir ahead of the Assembly elections.

However, Bandyopadhyay himself said that he had no idea of the matter. “I don’t know anything about this case… what the matter is. I came to know about it through the media. I will talk to my lawyer and tell you the details later. For now, I don’t want to comment on this,” he told media persons.

This news about the “warrant” against Bandyopadhyay also reached the Commission office. Subsequently, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer reacted to the issue to clarify that the news of issuing an arrest warrant against the poet is fake.

–IANS

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