FIR filed against Trinamool MLA after EC warning

Kolkata: The District Magistrate, also the District Electoral Officer, of Murshidabad district in West Bengal on Saturday afternoon finally lodged an FIR against the Trinamool Congress legislator from the Farakka Assembly constituency, who has been accused of leading party activists in vandalism at a centre for hearings on claims and objections on the draft voters’ list at Farakka over a week ago. However, the FIR was registered almost 48 hours after the deadline set by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for the same. The Commission had directed the District Electoral Officer of Murshidabad to register an FIR against Manirul Islam by 5 p.m. on Thursday and also inform the ECI accordingly. As the FIR was not registered against the Trinamool Congress legislator till Saturday morning, the ECI took exception to the delay, following which the FIR was finally lodged on Saturday afternoon.

Reacting to the development, Islam told media persons that if he ended up behind bars for speaking on behalf of the common people, he would welcome it. “Currently, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the ECI are the same, with the latter operating just as an extended arm of the ruling party at the Centre,” Islam alleged.