Lovely Khatun, a Bangladeshi woman who had infiltrated into Indian territory, before faking her identity to eventually become an elected representative from the Trinamool Congress in Malda district of North Bengal, has been stripped off her post, district administration has reported.
The Sub-divisional Officer of Chanchal has removed Khatun from her post and for the time being deputy Pradhan will discharge her responsibilities, officials said. The incident further bolsters BJP's infiltration claim and changing demographic pattern of the State, party leaders said.
Lovely Khatun alias Nasia Sheikh who was elected as the Panchayat Pradhan - considered hugely powerful position in Bengal's grassroots level of Rashidabad gram panchauat in Harishchandrapur block of Malda district in 2023 rural elections slipped into India some eight years back, sources said adding once in India she quickly faked her name and that of her parents and joined the TMC.
She managed Indian documents within months thanks to a group of local party men, insiders said. She not only managed Indian Aadhar, and voter cards but also secured an OBC certificate to file her nomination.
"Her oratory and other skills got into the closest coterie of the district leadership wherefrom she managed to get a party ticket," a block level party leader requesting anonymity said.
Even as Lovely witnessed a meteoric rise both politically and financially Rehana Sultana a contesting candidate who had lost out to the Khatun filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court questioning her credentials. Sources said Rehana was the official nominee of the TMC but lost to Lovely's manipulating skills.
According to Rehana, "The election was rigged out and out, signatures were forged and shewas allowed to obtain the winning certificate with the help of some TMC leaders and a section of the district administration.This is why I was forced to move the Court." What made the matter significant that despite repeated summons Khatun managed to avoid appearance in the High Court.
A local CPI(M) leader said, "She is not the only one. At least two hundred other infiltrators who had come to India between 2015 and 2023 are still moving around with fake identity cards.Let alone the locals even the political workers like others would not raise the issue lest we are murdered.The administration is just looking the other way."
Curiously however TMC sources said that Khatun had initially won on a Congress ticket backed by the Left and soon after winning the elections she joined the TMC. Referring to the Tuesday's development BJP State leader Jagannath Sarkar said that "Lovely Khatun's case only goes on to bolster the BJP's infiltration claims. She is not the only one. There are thousands of similar people who have infiltrated India and have been living here obtaining fake documents. They are changing the demographic pattern of the region and the Government is sitting idle. My question is whether after her removal the Government will actand identify the people that helped her in getting fake documents and Indian citizenship."