Founder of Bangla Paksh Garg Chatterjee Arrested for Provocative EVM Comments

Kolkata, May 12: Garg Chatterjee, the founder of ‘Bangla Paksh’, was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly making provocative comments during the West Bengal Assembly elections. A senior officer from the Kolkata police confirmed the arrest.

Chatterjee was apprehended by officials from the Kolkata police’s cyber cell in the Deshpriya Park area of South Kolkata. He is accused of spreading rumors related to electronic voting machines (EVMs) during the elections.

Authorities believe that such comments are not merely criticisms but a deliberate attempt to undermine public trust in the democratic system. They claim he tried to create confusion among the public regarding the reliability of EVMs during the elections.

The police action followed a complaint lodged by the Election Commission with the cyber crime department of the Kolkata police. The commission stated that such remarks are a calculated effort to weaken public confidence in the democratic process by creating doubt about the reliability of EVMs.

Chatterjee is expected to be presented in court on Wednesday, where police may seek his custody for further questioning.

During the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, Chatterjee raised concerns about alleged malfunctions in the EVMs during the vote counting, even though the machines had been sealed the previous night.

Voters in the Bhawanipur Assembly constituency also faced protests against Chatterjee while casting their votes. He advised voters to carefully check the VVPAT before pressing the EVM buttons. ‘Bangla Paksh’ also accused the Election Commission of denying permission for a rally planned for the first day of the Bengali month of Baisakh.

On the other hand, investigators claim that Chatterjee’s comments about the EVMs during the elections violate the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and cyber laws.

Chatterjee, who has been vocal against the alleged cultural dominance of Hindi-speaking regions since 2017, recently framed this issue as a ‘Bengali vs. Outsider’ narrative during the recently concluded Assembly elections.