Kolkata, May 12, 2026
Garga Chatterjee, founder of ‘Bangla Paksha’, was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly making provocative comments during the West Bengal Assembly elections, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said.
Officers of the cyber cell of Kolkata Police arrested Chatterjee from the Deshapriya Park area in south Kolkata. He is also accused of spreading rumours related to electronic voting machines (EVMs) during the elections.
The authorities believed that such comments are not just criticism, but a deliberate attempt to undermine people’s trust in the democratic system. They claimed that he tried to create confusion in the public mind about the credibility of EVMs during the elections.
According to police, the action followed a complaint filed by the Election Commission with the cybercrime department of Kolkata Police. The Commission said such remarks are a deliberate attempt to undermine public confidence in the democratic process by creating confusion over the credibility of EVMs.
Garga is likely to be produced in a court on Wednesday. The police may seek his custody for questioning.
During the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, Garga Chatterjee questioned alleged EVM malfunctions during the counting of votes despite the machines being sealed the previous night.
Garga, a voter of the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency, also faced protests while casting his vote.
He had advised voters to carefully check the VVPAT before pressing the EVM buttons. ‘Bangla Paksha’ had also accused the Election Commission of denying permission for a procession ahead of the polls, claiming permission was refused for a rally planned on the first day of the Bengali month of Baisakh.
On the other hand, investigators claimed that Garga’s comments on EVMs during the elections are a violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) and cyber law.
Chatterjee, who has been vocal since 2017 against what he describes as the cultural dominance of the Hindi heartland, had also framed the issue as a “Bengali versus outsider” narrative during the recently concluded Assembly elections.(Agency)
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