Assam oppn parties claim BJP ‘conspired' to omit names from voter list; CM rejects charge
Guwahati (PTI): Opposition parties in Assam on Friday approached the police and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) against the BJP, alleging that it conspired to delete names from the electoral rolls ahead of the assembly polls, a charge rejected by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Sarma maintained that revision of electoral rolls is a regular process to ensure ineligible names are struck off, and eligible voters included through a due procedure.
He also made light of the Congress’ ‘vote chori’ allegation here, stating that elections are yet to take place.
Assam has registered a 1.35 per cent increase in voters as per the draft electoral rolls, published on 30 December after the Special Revision (SR) was conducted ahead of the Assembly polls. A total of 7,86,841 additions and 4,47,196 deletions have taken place.
Five of the opposition parties — the Congress, CPI(M), Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad and the CPI(ML)L — filed a complaint at Dispur Police Station here, claiming that state BJP president Dilip Saikia has specifically entrusted cabinet minister Ashok Singhal to carry out the deletion process in 60 legislative assembly constituencies (LACs).
They also submitted a memorandum to the CEO, claiming anomalies and discrepancies in the ongoing revision of electoral rolls.
A Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls is underway in Assam, with the final voter list to be published on February 10. Assembly elections are likely to be held in March-April.
“When the Election Commission revises the voters’ list, all political parties have the right to appoint Booth Level Agents (BLAs). BJP has appointed its BLAs, and we have told them to ensure ineligible names are struck off, eligible voters included, and if any correction is needed, it be made,” Sarma said.
“This is a process…even if a name has to be deleted, the person is given due notice and opportunity to present his side,” the CM told reporters on the sidelines of a programme here when asked about the opposition crying foul against the ruling party.
He maintained that the revision of electoral rolls is for the purpose of sanitising it, and if no names could have been deleted or included, there would have been no need for the exercise.
He underlined that all political parties can appoint their BLAs and raise complaints with the EC regarding the rolls.
On Congress’s charge of ‘vote chori’, Sarma said, “How can vote chori have taken place when election hasn’t happened yet? When the Election Commission’s process is on, and no (final) list has been published, where is the question of vote chori?”
Asked about the opposition parties' filing a police complaint, he said, “Very good. They should file the case.”
The five opposition parties, in the police complaint, alleged that the state BJP president “instructed the BJP MLAs to take necessary steps for deletion of names in 60 LACs and also entrusted Hon'ble Minister Shri Ashok Singhal in a Zoom meeting held on 04/01/2026”.
“This is the evil design to delete the names of supporters of opposition parties from the electoral rolls,” it claimed, urging the police to secure the footage of the video conference involving Saikia as it “contains crucial evidence”.
The opposition parties claimed that this was a “larger conspiracy to delete the names of large numbers of genuine voters from the electoral rolls”.
“Therefore, you are requested to register a case under proper sections of penal law and take necessary steps to book the conspirators to save democracy,” the complaint said.
A police officer said the matter is being looked into.
In a separate memorandum submitted to the CEO, the opposition parties raised similar allegations and urged the CEO to restrain the CM, the BJP state president and other unauthorised persons from interfering in the revision of the electoral rolls.
They also asked the CEO to enquire into its accusation that the ruling party was conspiring of omitting voters who were supporters of the opposition camp.
The Raijor Dal has sent a separate complaint over the matter to the chief election commission, alleging conspiracy to illegally delete 10,000 opposition votes per constituency in the state ahead of the Assembly polls.
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Man chased, brutally stabbed inside public toilet in northwest Delhi; one arrested; juvenile held
New Delhi (PTI): An alleged road rage incident took a fatal turn when a 27-year-old factory worker was chased down by assailants and stabbed multiple times inside a public toilet in northwest Delhi's Ashok Vihar area, police said on Thursday.
According to police, the incident took place on Wednesday night, when witnesses saw the victim, Santosh Kumar, running into a public toilet in a desperate bid to save his life, with his attackers hot on his heels.
"A PCR call was received at 6:23 pm on April 8 regarding a man being stabbed inside the compound of a Sulabh Sauchalaya located at the fish market in Wazirpur Industrial Area," a senior police officer said.
A police team rushed to the spot and found the victim lying in a pool of blood inside the toilet premises. The victim, originally from Nepal, was residing in Macchi Market area, the official said.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that the incident stemmed from an altercation between the victim and a motorcycle rider. The verbal spat soon escalated into a physical scuffle, during which the accused, along with an associate, allegedly attacked Santosh with a knife.
Police sources said in a desperate attempt to save himself, the injured victim ran towards the nearby public toilet and tried to latch the door from inside. Eyewitness accounts suggest he tried to take refuge inside the public toilet and shut the door to prevent his attackers from entering. However, he was chased down, overpowered, and stabbed multiple times.
Santosh collapsed on the spot, where he later succumbed to his injuries, police said.
A case under sections 103(1) (murder) and 3(5) (common intentions) was registered at Ashok Vihar police station and an investigation was taken up.
During the probe, police arrested one accused identified as Tanish (19), a resident of CSA Colony in Macchi Market area, and apprehended a juvenile allegedly involved in the incident.
Police said the motorcycle used by the accused, which they had abandoned while fleeing after the attack, was recovered near the crime scene.
Family members and acquaintances of the deceased expressed shock over the killing. Santosh's uncle, who reached the spot after being informed, recounted the scene.
"When I came here, I saw him lying on the floor, dead. I noticed that he had been stabbed twice. I am not aware of what exactly happened. He was just 27 years old and used to work in a steel company with me. I don't know how many people were involved in the attack. We are from Nepal, and I have been working here for 15 years. I think he was stabbed outside and later came inside the toilet to save himself. There was a bike outside which I think belonged to the attackers," he said.
Police said the motive behind the crime appears to be road rage -- a sudden and heated altercation on the road that spiralled into a violent assault resulting in the victim's death.
Efforts are underway to identify and apprehend any other persons involved in the attack. Police teams are analysing CCTV footage from the surrounding area and examining local witnesses to piece together the sequence of events.
