Bangla Pokkho founder arrested over ‘misleading’ EVM posts
The Statesman | 13 May 2026
Garga Chatterjee, founder of Bangla Pokkho, was arrested by Kolkata Police on Tuesday on charges of allegedly spreading misinformation and making provocative social media posts regarding Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the Assembly election process.
Police sources said the arrest was made by the Cyber Crime police station from the Deshapriya Park area of south Kolkata. He is scheduled to be produced before a city court on Wednesday. The arrest followed complaints that Garga had posted misleading content on social media questioning the integrity of the EVM voting process and allegedly attempted to incite political unrest over the issue.
Reacting to the development, Bangla Pokkho stated that its general secretary and professor, Garga Chatterjee, had been arrested solely for making posts on social media. The organisation also rejected rumours circulating online that cartridge or arms had been recovered from him. According to the outfit, the police seizure list contained no mention of firearms, ammunition or weapons.
Police sources said the principal allegation against Garga relates to social media posts made during the polling phases. On 23 April, the day of the first phase of polling, voting reportedly began late in several booths owing to EVM glitches. Referring to those incidents, Garga had questioned through a Facebook post why technical problems surfaced in the morning despite the machines allegedly being tested the previous night. He had also advised voters to carefully verify the VVPAT slips before leaving polling booths after casting their votes.
On the day of counting as well, Garga allegedly targeted the Election Commission of India through another social media post, claiming that the Commission was pursuing a “secret plan”. Police alleged that a series of such posts during the election period created confusion among voters and attempted to undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
Following these developments, the District Election Officer (DEO) of north Kolkata lodged a formal complaint with the Cyber Crime division of Kolkata Police. Acting on the complaint, officers arrested Garga on Tuesday. Sources said he would spend the night at the Lalbazar central lock-up before being produced in court.
Addressing a Press conference at Lalbazar in the evening, Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nanda said: “Garga Chatterjee made social media posts misleading people regarding tampering of EVMs. He also urged political parties to launch movements over the issue. The DEO of north Kolkata lodged a complaint in this regard.” The Commissioner further stated that Garga had been served notices twice by the police for questioning but failed to appear on either occasion, following which he was arrested.