Tensions flared up in Gaighata, North 24 Parganas, as a female Booth Level Officer (BLO) was allegedly detained and harassed by villagers over discrepancies in the voter list. The incident occurred at Booth No. 38 in Pansira village under the Gaighata Assembly constituency, shortly after a similar unrest in Mothabari.

The BLO, Namita Das, an Anganwadi worker, was returning home on Thursday when a mob intercepted her. The protesters claimed that many names out of the 872 voters in the booth were missing and accused her of being bribed to manipulate the list. Panic-stricken, Das contacted the AERO, Sudipta Ghosh, who immediately dispatched the police and central forces to the spot.

Although she was safely rescued, Namita Das remains traumatized. “They accused me of taking money and working for a specific party. I only followed the Election Commission’s guidelines. I am terrified of going back to the field now,” she said. The local administration has stepped up security, but the repeated attacks on polling officials during the SIR process have raised serious security concerns in the state.