Bengal files FIRs against 4 officials on ECI directive; Chief secy sends compliance report to election panel

Kolkata: Following the directives of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the West Bengal government has lodged FIRs against four election officials –– two EROs and two AEROs –– which has been pending since last August. The BDO of Basirhat II was also suspended and a compliance report was sent by Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty before the time limit set by the ECI. The Commission, which is on a visit to Assam, will examine the same on its return.

Reacting to this, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “The chief secretary will abide by the law. The law will take its own course. If someone breaks the law, action will be taken. But we stand by our officers,” adding that her government is cooperating with the ECI “out of courtesy”.

On August 5, 2025, the ECI had directed the then chief secretary Manoj Pant to suspend two EROs and two AEROs for committing “grave lapses” and for “failing to perform their duties” for violating data security by sharing their login credentials of the ER database with unauthorised persons. Pant was summoned by the ECI then.


The West Bengal government had suspended these four officials and initiated departmental proceedings against them, following the ECI’s directives.

AERO suspension

The ECI has suspended seven AEROs directly. The chief secretary has sent letters to all the seven officials, sources said.

Banerjee questioned why these officials were suspended. “If any officer is victimised unnecessarily, the state government will protect them. They may not be working with the ECI but they will be working in government positions. They were not given the chance of self-defence.” she said.

“We took the steps out of courtesy. If someone has done wrong, they could have told the state. They were not allowed to defend themselves,” she said. “In our political party, we issue a show cause notice before suspension. An investigation will be done. They will not lose their jobs. The ones who are demoted, we will promote them,” she said

She called the ECI a ‘Torture Commission’ which is trying to bulldoze Constitutional rights. In the name of Bengal SIR, the ECI is destroying the democratic fabric of the country and bulldozing federalism.

“India is a democratic country and it is a matter of shame that there is an attempt to end democracy,” Banerjee said. She lashed out against the AERO suspension, threatening the ERO/ BDO/ADM and police and claimed that the central government is moving towards “one party, one nation”.