Bengal's CEO Gets Enhanced Security Amid Election Row
Image Source: Internet
West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal has been provided with 'Y-plus' category armed security cover by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), officials announced. The decision comes following a threat perception report prepared by intelligence agencies, reflecting rising concerns about potential threats to the top election official during the ongoing electoral process. The security arrangement, which took effect on Friday, coincides with the start of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive, a crucial exercise aimed at updating and cleaning electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming elections. The SIR drive involves booth-level officers, electoral registration officers, and public hearings to address complaints related to voter name inclusion, deletion, or correction. As part of the hearing phase, which started on December 27 and concludes on February 7, 2026, identification documents of approximately 32 lakh 'unmapped' electors will be recorded and verified by election officials. The exercise will be conducted across multiple venues, including schools and government offices, with each Assembly constituency likely to have 11 hearing tables. Cumulatively, over 294 electoral registration officers, 3,200 assistant electoral registration officers, 4,600 micro-observers, and more than 80,000 booth-level officers will be engaged in the hearing process across the state. The Election Commission of India has appointed micro-observers from existing Group B Central government staff in West Bengal to scrutinise the hearing process.
