As the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise continues in West Bengal, incidents of illegal migrants allegedly leaving the state have risen. But in Dankuni, Hooghly district, a Bangladesh national allegedly made an attempt to stay in the country by using the enumeration form of a deceased voter to secure inclusion in the electoral rolls.

The incident has raised concerns about the circulation of old voter documents and the integrity of the voter-verification system. The man has been arrested for allegedly attempting to get a deceased man’s name included in the voter list in Mathurdanga, Ward 20 of Dankuni Municipality.

According to residents, the issue came to light when Nadeem, who claims to have been living in Dankuni for 15 years, submitted an enumeration form in the name of Mohsin Khan, who died in 2015. Mohsin’s elder brother, Moiidul Khan, allegedly discovered that a form had been filed under his deceased brother’s name — and had already been accepted by the Election Commission.

When the family examined the enumeration form, they found that the photograph was not Mohsin’s but Nadeem’s. Residents confronted Nadeem and informed the police.

Speaking to the media, Nadeem said, “I had made all fake documents, including Aadhaar and voter card, for Rs 4,000. During the ongoing SIR process, I purchased the dead voter’s enumeration form. The BLO had given the form to me.” He claimed that he filled out the form with his own photograph and submitted it as part of the verification process.

Tension ran high in Mathurdanga on Wednesday night as residents detained Nadeem and alerted the police. Officers from Dankuni police station reached the spot and took him into custody.

Though the police have not issued an official statement, sources said an investigation has been launched to determine how Nadeem allegedly accessed the deceased person’s documents and whether a wider network is involved.