BALURGHAT: Allegations of CCTV malfunction at key election-related facilities in South Dinajpur have triggered concern, with complaints lodged by Trinamool Congress representatives from both Balurghat and Kushmandi Assembly constituencies.
A written complaint has been submitted to the Returning Officer of the 39-Balurghat Assembly Constituency by Debasish Karmakar, election agent of AITC candidate Arpita Ghosh, alleging a shutdown of CCTV cameras and monitoring systems at the strong room of Balurghat College. According to the allegation, the disruption occurred approximately between 3:00 am and 7:00 am on April 29, affecting cameras at both the front and rear sides, along with monitors installed in the strong room and media centre.
The complaint raised serious concerns regarding surveillance during a critical period and requested access to CCTV footage for verification. The document was officially received at the office of the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Balurghat on the same day.
In a separate development, Rekha Roy, AITC candidate for the 37-Kushmandi (SC) Assembly Constituency, also filed a complaint alleging that a CCTV camera remained non-functional for nearly an hour from around 9:00 pm on April 29. She urged authorities to investigate the allegation behind the outage and sought access to the relevant footage during the period of downtime.
Amid the allegation, District Election Officer and District Magistrate of South Dinajpur, Balasubramanian T, visited Balurghat College on Wednesday evening to assess the situation on the ground.
Responding to the concerns, Balasubramanian T stated: "There was heavy rain accompanied by lightning on Tuesday night. Due to lightning strikes, two to three CCTV cameras temporarily stopped functioning, causing brief disruption.
The affected cameras were promptly replaced and the situation has now returned to normal."