Beheading of soldiers: Outraged India summons Pakistan envoy

May 3, 2017

New Delhi, May 3: The Government on Wednesday summoned Pakistan's High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, to the Ministry of External Affairs and conveyed New Delhi's outrage over killing of two Indian soldiers and mutilation of their bodies by the personnel of the neighbouring country along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Basit was summoned to the South Block where Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar conveyed to him New Delhi's demand for Pakistan “to take immediate action against its soldiers and commanders responsible for this heinous act”.

Jaishankar pointed out to Basit that the attack on the Indian Army and Border Security Force soldiers along the Line of Control last Monday had been preceded by “covering fire from Pakistani posts in Battal sector (in the vicinity of village Battal). “Blood samples of Indian soldiers that have been collected and the trail of blood on Roza Nala clearly shows that the killers returned across the Line of Control,” Gopal Baglay, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, quoted Foreign Secretary conveying to the High Commissioner of Pakistan to India.

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Over 58 lakh names dropped from draft voter list in Bengal ahead of polls

News Network

December 16,2025

The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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