Kolkata: SIR hearings in Bengal were disrupted in Chinsurah and Midnapore on Monday after EC said booth-level agents (BLAs) would not be allowed to be present during the proceedings, and an EC observer’s vehicle came under attack in Mograhat, South 24 Parganas.Special roll observer C Murugan, tasked with supervising SIR of rolls in South 24 Parganas and Kolkata South LS constituencies, had gone to Mograhat for a field visit when he encountered protests. Protesters allegedly damaged the handle lock of a door of the vehicle. EC has asked Murugan to submit a detailed report on the incident.The flare-up followed EC’s decision to debar BLAs from entering SIR hearings. Despite the protests, Murugan remained firm. “I came to do my job and I will do it. What do I have to fear? I am an IAS officer. I have come here on Election Commission’s instructions. It is the administration’s responsibility to provide me with security,” Murugan said.Around the same time, similar protests broke out in Hooghly and Midnapore. In Hooghly’s Chinsurah-Mogra block office, hearings were suspended after TMC MLA Asit Mazumdar objected to the exclusion of BLAs. “Unless BLAs are allowed or officials give in writing that they will not be allowed, we will not allow the hearings,” Mazumdar told reporters. Following this, gates of block office were closed, preventing people from entering.Later, after a prod from EC, the DM reached the spot and ensured that hearings resumed.
