Bengal Activist Garga Chattopadhyay held for spreading misinformation on EVMs during polls
According to cybercrime division officials, Chatterjee would be produced before a court on Wednesday.
The Kolkata police said they would produce Garga Chattopadhyay before the competent court on Wednesday. (File Photo) The Kolkata Police on Tuesday arrested Garga Chatterjee, founder of the Bangla Pokkho ethno-linguistic rights organisation, for allegedly making provocative statements in the run-up to the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections, officials said, adding that Chatterjee was also accused of spreading misinformation relating to the electoral process and Electronic Voting Machines (EVM).
According to cybercrime division officials, Chatterjee would be produced before a court on Wednesday.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand said, “The complaint against Chatterjee was lodged by the District Election Officer (DEO) of Kolkata North, following which the cyber cell initiated action. He was summoned twice in connection with the matter, but he did not appear, and that is the reason why he was arrested.”
A Harvard-educated scholar and neuroscientist, Chatterjee pivoted into political activism with his stance on “Bengal for Bengalis”.
Chatterjee had raised questions over alleged EVM malfunctioning on April 23, the day of the first phase of polling, when polling reportedly started late at several booths due to technical glitches, another police officer said.
In a Facebook post, Chatterjee had questioned why EVMs developed problems in the morning despite having undergone checks the previous night. He had also advised voters to carefully verify VVPAT slips before leaving the polling booths after casting their votes.
On May 4, the day of counting, he again targeted the Election Commission through a social media post alleging that the poll panel was carrying out a “secret plan”, the officer said, adding, “He was arrested on the basis of specific complaints related to spreading misinformation and creating confusion regarding the electoral process.”
Reacting to his arrest, Dipankar Bhattacharya, national general secretary of
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPIML) said, “Garga Chatterjee, a faculty member of Indian Statistical Institute and leader of Bangla Pokkho has been arrested for his posts about EVM tampering. Demand immediate release of this well-known campaigner for Bengali identity and electoral transparency.”
Bangla Pokkho is a group that advocates for Bengali culture and language. The group has previously been involved in campaigns against the “imposition” of Hindi signages in the state.
In 2024, two students from Bihar, who had come to West Bengal for a Staff Selection Commission (SSC) exam, were allegedly assaulted by a group of men in Siliguri. Rajat Bhattacharya, a man linked to Bangla Pokkho, had been detained in connection with the incident.
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