Bangladeshi Voter IDs in West Bengal: Cases, SIR and the Data

Between 2025 and 2026, police and central agencies in West Bengal documented several named Bangladeshi nationals holding Indian voter IDs, Aadhaar and ration cards, some obtained within months of arriving. When the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter rolls began on 4 November 2025, thousands of people queued at the Hakimpur border post to cross back to Bangladesh. But the Election Commission of India (ECI) removed about 90.8 lakh names without ever publishing a "foreigner" category, so the BJP's claim of 1 to 1.25 crore infiltrators on the rolls has no support in official data.

58.2 lakhnames removed in the draft roll, 16 Dec 2025

≈90.8 lakhtotal deletions after the final roll and adjudication

1.83 lakh"ghost" or fake entries in the draft roll

≈25,000crossed back to Bangladesh since 4 Nov 2025 (BSF official)

1.25 crore"illegal voters" claimed by Suvendu Adhikari, July 2025

0ECI deletion categories for "foreigners"

Key takeaways

Kolkata Police arrested Bangladeshi national Shanta Paul in late July 2025 with Indian Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards, and PTI reported she had entered India only a few months before her arrest.
The Election Commission removed about 90.8 lakh names from West Bengal's voter rolls in the SIR under the categories dead, shifted, absent, duplicate and "ghost", and has published no category or count for foreigners or non-citizens.
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari claimed in July 2025 that about 1.25 crore illegal immigrants were on West Bengal's voter list, but no evidence for that figure appears in Election Commission, Home Ministry or BSF data.
A BSF official said in May 2026 that at least 25,000 Bangladeshi nationals had crossed back from India since the SIR began in West Bengal on 4 November 2025, and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said in June 2026 that about 10,000 had been sent back.
The Trinamool Congress called the 1.25 crore infiltrator claim communal rhetoric and said the Election Commission's 1.83 lakh "ghost" entries in the December 2025 draft roll "puncture" the BJP's figure.
The Supreme Court held in 2026 that deletion from the voter roll is not a citizenship ruling and that the Election Commission must send doubtful cases to the Union government, which decides citizenship.
Viral videos of Bangladeshis "fleeing" West Bengal after the SIR were false: one showed a Kali idol immersion crowd in Nadia and another showed garment workers commuting in Bangladesh.

The short answer

Two things are true at once. First, there are documented cases of Bangladeshi nationals in West Bengal who obtained Indian identity papers, including voter ID cards (EPIC), through agents and forged documents. Second, the scale claimed by political leaders is not backed by any published figure from the Election Commission, the Union Home Ministry or the Border Security Force (BSF).

The ECI's own breakdown of SIR deletions lists the dead, people who shifted, people who were absent or untraceable, duplicates and "ghost" entries. It has no category for foreigners or non-citizens. Reporters' Collective The largest border figure, about 25,000 people crossing back since November 2025, comes from an unnamed BSF official. ThePrint

Documented cases of Bangladeshis with Indian documents

The cases below were reported by news agencies from police, Enforcement Directorate (ED) or Election Commission sources. None had reached a conviction in the reports found. Where a detail rests only on police or agency statements, it is marked as a claim.

Shanta Paul, Kolkata: Indian IDs within months of arrival

Documented In late July 2025, the Anti Rowdy Section of Kolkata Police raided a flat in the Bikramgarh area and arrested Shanta Paul, a Bangladeshi woman who had worked as an airline crew member with Regent Airways and as a small-time model in Bangladesh. Police seized Bangladeshi passports in her name. PTI via The Week

Alongside them, police found Indian documents: Aadhaar cards, voter ID cards and ration cards. According to police, she first rented a room on Park Street, used that address and an agent to get a ration card, then obtained fake Aadhaar and voter IDs through another man, and finally applied for an Indian passport. PTI via The Week

The key detail is timing. PTI reported that she had entered India only a few months before her arrest, on a valid passport. Police said she planned to travel abroad on Indian papers, and that they were checking whether any officers helped with verification. PTI via The Week

This is the clearest documented example of someone getting a full set of Indian identity papers within months. No mainstream report was found of a person at the border saying they had arrived only months earlier.

Ajad Mallik and the ED passport case

Documented On 15 April 2025 the ED arrested Ajad Mallik, also known as Ahammed Hossain Azad, in Kolkata under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED searched seven premises and seized ₹13.45 lakh in cash, documents and digital devices. A special PMLA court remanded him to 13 days of ED custody. PTI via The Week

Claim · ED The ED said he helped Bangladeshi nationals get Indian passports and Aadhaar cards by fraud, for money. The money-laundering case grew out of a police FIR under the Foreigners Act, 1946. PTI via The Week

Claim · ED The case later widened. On 29 April 2025, the ED told a Kolkata court that he had admitted he was originally from Pakistan, got Bangladeshi citizenship with forged papers, then used the same method for Indian documents. The ED said he was enrolled as a voter in Dum Dum Uttar and voted in the 2021 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and that it was asking the ECI how his voter card was issued. IANS

On 13 October 2025 the ED arrested Indubhushan Haldar of Nadia district, described as his key aide. The ED linked Haldar to about 250 cases in which Bangladeshi nationals got Indian passports on forged papers. A charge sheet against the main accused had been filed in a Kolkata sessions court. Tribune

Hakimpur: people in the queue describe touts

Self-reported to PTI In November 2025 PTI reporters spoke to people waiting at the BSF's Hakimpur post in Swarupnagar, North 24 Parganas, to cross back. The report said many in the queue had obtained Aadhaar, ration or voter cards through touts and middlemen. PTI via The Hitavada

Manirul Sheikh, 29, who worked in garment units in Dhulagori and collected scrap iron: "I paid nearly Rs 20,000 to get documents."
Imran Gazi: "I voted in 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024. But, I have no papers from 2002." (2002 is the base year of the last intensive revision that SIR forms are checked against.)
An unnamed waiter who had lived in Kolkata for eight years: "If they check old papers, we cannot show anything. Better to leave before they ask questions."
A group from Satkhira said they had paid ₹5,000 to ₹7,000 to enter West Bengal.

Stays ranged from about a year to about 18 years. These are statements made to reporters, not findings of any court or official inquiry. The Week

Barasat: a name on two countries' rolls

Unconfirmed On 8 February 2026, micro-observers checking the SIR draft roll flagged Monju Rani Saha, listed in Barasat, North 24 Parganas, with an Indian EPIC and an Aadhaar card giving an address in Hridaypur. Sources said she was also registered, and had voted, in Narayanganj Sadar, Bangladesh. Election officials opened an inquiry. The report relied on unnamed sources and was not confirmed by authorities. National Herald

Kalna, East Burdwan: voter cards for ₹1,000

Claim · Police On 24 June 2026 police in Mallikbagan, Kalna, detained Rafiq Sheikh (alias Siraj), his wife Zarina Sheikh and Hanif Sheikh after discrepancies in voter records. According to police, they said they had crossed from Bangladesh and bought voter ID cards for ₹1,000 each through a local broker, Selim Sheikh. These are police statements about interrogation, reported by UNI. UNI

How the documents were obtained

In these cases, police and migrants describe the same order: a local address, often a rented room; then a ration card through an agent; then Aadhaar and a voter card; sometimes a passport application. Reported prices range from ₹1,000 per voter card (Kalna police account) to "nearly Rs 20,000" for a set of documents (Manirul Sheikh). The ED's case describes a larger paid operation, with about 250 passport cases linked to one aide. PTI via The Week Tribune

The SIR in West Bengal and its deletion categories

The ECI announced Phase II of the SIR on 27 October 2025, covering nine states and three Union Territories, including West Bengal. House-to-house enumeration in Bengal began on 4 November 2025. The Hindu, via Wikipedia

Documented The draft roll published on 16 December 2025 removed 58,20,898 names, cutting the electorate from 7,66,37,529 to 7,08,16,631. PTI reported this breakdown: PTI via The Week

Dead: 24,16,852
Permanently shifted: 19,88,076
Absent or untraceable at the address: 12,20,038
"Ghost" or fake entries: 1,83,328
Duplicate entries: about 1.38 lakh
Other: more than 57,000

The reported sub-figures add up to slightly more than the stated total, a discrepancy in the original report.

Why names were removed (draft roll, 16 Dec 2025), in lakh

Dead24.17

Shifted19.88

Absent / untraceable12.20

"Ghost" / fake1.83

Duplicate≈1.38

Foreignersno category

58.2 lakh were removed in the draft roll. With the final roll and adjudication the total reached about 90.8 lakh. The ECI has no "foreigner" or "non-citizen" category. Sources: PTI via The Week, ThePrint, Reporters' Collective.

Documented The final roll on 28 February 2026 showed 63.66 lakh names deleted, about 8.3% of the electorate. Another 60.06 lakh electors were placed under adjudication by judicial officers. Of these, 27.16 lakh were deleted and 32.68 lakh were kept, taking total deletions to about 90.83 lakh by 7 April 2026. PTI via ThePrint The 12th and final supplementary list was published at midnight on 6 April 2026. The Wire

Documented Non-citizenship was not an explicit ground for deletion. The ECI has not published any count of foreigners or non-Indians removed in Bengal, and has not said whether it compiled such a list. Reporters' Collective In response to an RTI application, dated 23 January 2026, the Union Home Ministry said it holds no central data on the identification, arrest or deportation of infiltrators. The Wire

Claim · ISAS, NUS A May 2026 brief by Ronojoy Sen found deletions were disproportionately high in Muslim-heavy seats. ISAS Claim · Researcher Sabir Ahamed The share of "unmapped" voters in the Matua belt of Hindu refugee families was about 7.8%, nearly double the state average. eNewsroom

The crossings back: what the BSF reported

Queues formed at the Hakimpur outpost within days of the SIR starting. Officials said the BSF recorded biometrics, checked for criminal records, handed most people to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and sent anyone linked to a crime to state police. PTI via Deccan Herald

19 Nov 2025: A senior BSF officer called it a "quantum jump" in attempted crossings through unfenced parts of North 24 Parganas and Malda. Daily detections that "barely entered double digits" had risen to "100, 150 or more", though "not as high as 500". Officials said almost none had valid travel documents. PTI via Deccan Herald
21 Nov 2025: BSF at Hakimpur said about 1,600 Bangladeshi nationals had returned since the SIR began. All India Radio
23 Nov 2025: BSF said 150 to 200 people a day were being detained and pushed back after verification, about 1,200 in six days. One police officer said 95 people were held in two days and stations had no room for more. The Week
1 Dec 2025: PTI reported "over 10,000 Bangladeshis held while attempting illegal border crossings". The period covered was not stated. PTI via Deccan Herald
26 May 2026: At Hakimpur, 150 people were checked in one day, 60 were pushed back and 90 were handed to police. A BSF official said at least 25,000 Bangladeshi nationals had crossed from India since 4 November 2025. ThePrint
23 Jun 2026: Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari told the Assembly that about 10,000 people had been sent back and about 1,800 were in 12 holding centres. TBS

BSF officials themselves urged caution. One said local estimates "often come from informal accounts and tend to be exaggerated". Another said: "We cannot assume everyone here is simply returning home." PTI via Deccan Herald

Crossings back to Bangladesh, as officials reported them

Hakimpur, 4–21 Nov 2025 (BSF)≈1,600

Held at the border, to 1 Dec 2025 (BSF)10,000+

Sent back, to 23 Jun 2026 (CM)≈10,000

Crossed back since 4 Nov 2025 (BSF official)≈25,000

BJP claim: infiltrators on the rolls1.25 crore*

*The BJP's claim (12.5 million) is about 500 times the largest BSF figure, so its bar is cut off at the chart edge. BSF figures are from unnamed officials and cover different periods. Sources: AIR, PTI/DH, ThePrint, TBS.

The BJP's 1 to 1.25 crore claim against the ECI data

Claim · Suvendu Adhikari (BJP) On 26 July 2025, at Tamluk in Purba Medinipur, then Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said about 1.25 crore illegal immigrants were on Bengal's voter list and would be deported after an SIR. His reasoning was that if about 50 lakh names were removed in Bihar, Bengal could have "as many as 1.25 crore". He said Hindus who had fled religious persecution had nothing to fear. Business Standard On 3 August 2025 he spoke of "1 crore Rohingya, Bangladeshi, fake voters". Punjab Kesari

After the draft roll he said: "This is just the beginning. Breakfast has just begun. There will be lunch, tea and then dinner." PTI via The Week Claim · BJP chief Nitin Nabin On 2 March 2026 the BJP's national president said "over 50 lakh infiltrators" had been removed from the Bengal list. The Hitavada

No evidence Neither figure appears in any ECI release. The ECI's categories are dead, shifted, absent, duplicate and "ghost". The 50 lakh figure would require counting the dead and the shifted as infiltrators. Reporters' Collective The Wire later reported that Adhikari had also cited 1.5 crore "infiltrators", which it said was without evidence. The Wire

Government's position Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said the opposition resists the SIR to protect an "infiltrator vote bank". Tribune The ECI's stated aim for the SIR is to remove duplicate, dead or ineligible entries. Al Jazeera

The Trinamool Congress position

Claim · TMC TMC spokesperson Debangshu Bhattacharya called the 1.25 crore figure communal rhetoric meant to polarise voters and dared the BJP to hand its list to the Election Commission. "Can he genuinely identify such a massive number?" he asked. Business Standard

Claim · TMC On 16 December 2025 TMC's Krishanu Mitra said the 1.83 lakh "ghost" figure "punctures" the 1 crore claim. He cited BSF data of about 4,000 people leaving via Hakimpur and asked: "If you exclude deaths, who are the remaining deleted voters? Through which borders did they leave?" The party said deletion rates were about 9% in Matua-dominated areas and about 0.6% in Muslim-dominated seats. These percentages are the TMC's own analysis. PTI via The Week

Then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee filed a petition on 28 January 2026 challenging the SIR as "opaque, hasty, unconstitutional and illegal", warning of "large-scale disenfranchisement". She appeared in person before the Supreme Court, which issued notice in early February. The ECI said the state had failed to provide enough officers. The Leaflet

Earlier, on 2 January 2025, Banerjee had accused the BSF of "letting infiltrators enter India". A BSF official replied that the force kept "a 24/7 vigil". PTI via The Week

The Supreme Court: roll deletion is not a citizenship ruling

Documented On 27 May 2026 a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi upheld the SIR as within the ECI's statutory powers, calling it "neither arbitrary nor excessive". The Week The judgment also held that deletion from the roll does not cancel citizenship, and asked the ECI to share the names of suspected non-citizens with the Home Ministry within four weeks. Reporters' Collective

Four weeks later, no such names had been made public. The Wire

Documented On 18 July 2026, hearing a petition by Prasenjit Bose of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress, the court said the ECI can drop doubtful names but cannot decide citizenship. "We told the EC to forward the list of people with doubtful citizenship credentials to Union government," the bench said. Justice Bagchi said that until the Union decides a case under the Citizenship Act, a person's status "must go on". TNM

Counsel told the court that about 34 lakh appeals had been filed before 19 appellate tribunals. Of about 38,000 decided, roughly 70% restored the voter to the roll. The petition challenges state orders from May and June 2026 that linked SIR deletions to welfare cuts. TNM

ECI is not a constitutional authority with regard to status under Art 9, 10, 11 and 12.
Supreme Court bench, oral remarks as reported by SabrangIndia, July 2026

Articles 9 to 12 are the Constitution's provisions on who is a citizen. SabrangIndia

Fake "exodus" videos

Real queues at Hakimpur were reported by PTI and confirmed by BSF figures. Alongside them, several videos were shared with false claims.

False The border-gate crowd. From 9 November 2025, a video of a crowd passing through a gate in a barbed-wire fence was shared as Bangladeshis fleeing the SIR, including by former J&K DGP S.P. Vaid. It showed a Kali Puja idol immersion crowd in Shikarpur/Funkatala, Nadia district, heading to the Mathabhanga river. A local police officer confirmed this, and the original was posted on 30 October 2025. Alt News West Bengal Police also called the claim fake. Rumor Scanner
False The "ghar wapsi" river queue. A clip captioned "Illegals doing 'Ghar Wapsi' as soon as SIR is announced" showed garment workers commuting at Mongla Ghat in Khulna division, Bangladesh. A local journalist said: "It is not a border." BOOM Factly Fact Crescendo
In May 2026 ThePrint said it could not independently verify new viral queue videos from Hakimpur. ThePrint

The 2026 election and the Adhikari government

Documented West Bengal voted in two phases, on 23 April (152 seats) and 29 April 2026 (142 seats). PTI via ThePrint Votes were counted on 4 May. Statesman The BJP won 207 of 294 seats, up from 77 in 2021, with about 46% of the vote. The TMC fell from 215 to 80 seats with about 41%. ISAS

Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as the state's first BJP Chief Minister on 9 May 2026 by Governor R.N. Ravi at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata. All India Radio

Claim · ISAS, NUS Did the deletions decide the result? In 105 seats the BJP won, total deletions exceeded its winning margin. But the ISAS author concluded the SIR "would not have fundamentally changed" the overall mandate. ISAS

The new government moved quickly on the border issue:

13 May: Adhikari said no "deceased person, illegal infiltrator, or non-Indian individual" would get state benefits. Documented The Food and Supplies Department order of 4 June actually targeted people deleted as dead, shifted or absent, holders of more than two voter cards, and people found to have given wrong details. It did not mention infiltrators. Reporters' Collective
23 May: The Home and Hill Affairs Department told districts to set up holding centres for "suspected illegal foreigners" awaiting deportation, naming Bangladeshis and Rohingya. The Wire
23 June: Adhikari said the policy was push-back rather than jail, so money spent on detention could fund welfare. He said border fencing would be finished within six months. He told "genuine citizens" not to worry, "it does not matter which religion or community they belong to". TBS

Bangladesh's foreign minister, Khalilur Rahman, said Dhaka would "take action" if push-ins occurred after the change of government. The Wire

Timeline

15 Apr 2025
ED arrests Ajad Mallik
Alleged passport and Aadhaar racket for Bangladeshis; ₹13.45 lakh seized. PTI
Late Jul 2025
Shanta Paul arrested
Kolkata Police find Indian Aadhaar, voter and ration cards months after her arrival. PTI
26 Jul 2025
The 1.25 crore claim
Suvendu Adhikari makes the claim at Tamluk. Business Standard
4 Nov 2025
SIR begins in Bengal
Queues start building at Hakimpur the same day. The Week
16 Dec 2025
Draft roll: 58.2 lakh removed
1.83 lakh flagged as "ghost" entries; no foreigner category. PTI
28 Feb 2026
Final roll
63.66 lakh deleted and 60.06 lakh sent for adjudication. ThePrint
4 May 2026
BJP wins 207 seats
Adhikari sworn in on 9 May. AIR
27 May 2026
Supreme Court upholds SIR
Deletion does not cancel citizenship; suspected non-citizens to be referred to the Home Ministry. Reporters' Collective
23 Jun 2026
CM: about 10,000 sent back
About 1,800 in 12 holding centres. TBS

Both accounts

BJP and state government account

Large numbers of Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants are on Bengal's rolls and have influenced past elections. The SIR and border queues show the problem is real. Named cases show agents supplying Indian papers. The state now pushes people back through the BSF, is fencing the border, and says genuine citizens of any religion have nothing to fear. PTI TBS

TMC and critics' account

The crore-scale figures are political and unsupported: the ECI found 1.83 lakh "ghost" entries, not crores of foreigners, and has no foreigner category. Deletions hit Hindu refugee Matua areas and Muslim-heavy seats, and most decided appeals have restored voters. Border security is the Centre's duty through the BSF. PTI TNM

Where things stand

Named cases: At least five documented or reported cases in 2025-26; no convictions found in public reports.
Deletions: About 90.8 lakh names removed in Bengal, with no published count of foreigners. ThePrint
Border: About 25,000 crossed back per a BSF official; about 10,000 sent back per the CM by June 2026.
Courts: SIR upheld; deletion is not a citizenship finding; appeals pending in tribunals.

What is still pending

Whether the ECI has sent any list of suspected non-citizens to the Home Ministry, and how many names it holds.
The outcome of about 34 lakh appeals before the SIR tribunals.
Trials in the Mallik passport case and the Shanta Paul case.
Independent checks of the BSF and state push-back numbers.

Questions people ask

Are Bangladeshi nationals really getting Indian voter IDs in West Bengal?

Yes, in documented individual cases. Kolkata Police found Shanta Paul with Indian voter IDs and Aadhaar months after she arrived, and the ED says Ajad Mallik voted in 2021 and 2024 on a fraudulently obtained card. How many such cases exist overall is not known from any official source.

How many foreigners were removed from the Bengal voter list in the SIR?

No official number exists. The ECI deleted about 90.8 lakh names under the categories dead, shifted, absent, duplicate and "ghost". It never used a foreigner or non-citizen category.

Is the BJP's 1.25 crore infiltrators claim true?

There is no evidence for it in ECI data. The largest BSF figure for people crossing back is about 25,000, and the ECI flagged 1.83 lakh "ghost" entries in the draft roll.

How many Bangladeshis went back through Hakimpur?

BSF figures rose from about 1,600 by 21 November 2025 to a BSF official's estimate of at least 25,000 since 4 November 2025, reported in May 2026. These come from unnamed officials and cover different periods.

Does removal from the voter list mean someone is not an Indian citizen?

No. The Supreme Court said the ECI can drop names but cannot decide citizenship. Doubtful cases must go to the Union government under the Citizenship Act, and until then a person's status continues.

Was the viral video of Bangladeshis fleeing Bengal real?

The most shared ones were false. One showed a Kali idol immersion crowd in Nadia, and another showed garment workers commuting at Mongla Ghat in Bangladesh. Real queues at Hakimpur were separately reported by PTI.