Pakistani-origin women found on Bihar voter list amid illegal immigration concerns

Dubai: A controversy has surfaced in Bhagalpur district in Bihar after two women of Pakistani origin, who entered India in 1956, were found to possess voter ID cards and had even been verified during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The matter, flagged by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has prompted the district administration to initiate the process of deleting their names from the voter list.

Both women – identified as Imrana Khanam alias Imrana Khatoon, wife of Ibtul Hasan, and Firdousia Khanam, wife of Md. Tafjeel Ahmed – are elderly and unable to communicate effectively, according to Indian media reports.

Firdousia, a native of Rangpur, arrived in India on a three-month visa on January 19, 1956, while Imrana entered on a three-year visa, Official records show. Despite their visa status, both were later issued Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC), raising questions about lapses in verification, Asia News International (ANI) said.

Bhagalpur District Magistrate Dr. Naval Kishor Chaudhary confirmed that the deletion process has begun following MHA’s instructions. “After verification, we will have Form-7 filled and take action to remove the names as required. These instructions were received from the Ministry of Home Affairs,” he said, while refraining from sharing further details.

According to Booth Level Officer (BLO) Farzana Khatoon, the directive was received on August 11. “I verified them during the SIR. I received a letter from the department with their passport numbers, which I cross-checked. One of them, Imrana Khanam, was not in a condition to speak due to her age and illness. As per orders, I filled out the form and began the process of removing her name,” she said.

When reporters visited Imrana’s residence at Bhikanpur Gumti No. 3 Tank Lane under Ishakchak police station, the family avoided speaking, while doors remained closed, according to ANI.

Firdousia’s son, Mohammad Gulrez, however, dismissed the investigation, saying, “No one has come here for any investigation. The BLO had come earlier and took all the papers. Out of 11 documents, we submitted ours. We vote every time.”

The incident comes amid heightened political and administrative focus on infiltration and demographic shifts in Bihar’s border regions. Districts along the India-Nepal and India-Bangladesh borders have been flagged as particularly vulnerable.

At a rally in Gaya on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated concerns over illegal immigrants, asserting that they pose a threat to jobs and security.

“The demography of Bihar’s border areas is changing rapidly. We will not allow immigrants to take away jobs meant for the people of Bihar. The demographic mission will soon start its work and throw out every illegal immigrant from the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) reported significant progress in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, according to IANS news agency. As of August 23, documents of 98.2 per cent of electors have been received, with only 1.8 per cent pending submission before the September 1 deadline.

According to the ECI, the verification exercise across 72.4 million electors has yielded 3,28,847 new entries of first-time voters, while 121,000 claims and objections have been filed. The final electoral rolls will be published on September 30, 2025, following scrutiny by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant EROs.

The Commission praised the coordinated efforts of 90,712 BLOs, 2,976 AEROs, 243 EROs, and lakhs of volunteers, along with political parties’ field representatives.

For now, Bhagalpur authorities are focused on completing the deletion process for the two Pakistani-origin women. The final decision will depend on verification of documents and reports submitted to the MHA. The case underscores both the challenges of electoral roll management and the political sensitivity of illegal immigration, which has already become a flashpoint in Bihar’s political discourse.