‘Bangla Paksha’ founder Garga Chatterjee released on bail

Kolkata, May 22 (IANS) ‘Bangla Paksha’ founder and activist Garga Chatterjee, was released on bail on Friday after spending ten days behind bars.

A lower court in Kolkata on Friday had granted Garga Chatterjee bail against a personal bond of Rs 2,000.

He was arrested on May 12 by the Kolkata Police. The police arrested him after he ignored summons for interrogation by the Kolkata Police in connection with a complaint filed against him alleging that his comments about EVMs before the recently-concluded West Bengal Assembly elections were in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

During this arrest on May 12, the police also recovered 24 rounds of bullets from his residence. The police then claimed that Chatterjee did not have the legal documents to prove that permission had been granted by the competent authorities to possess the bullets.

Questions were also raised from various quarters on why language-activists were required to possess bullets.

He was presented in the lower court in Kolkata on May 13, which remanded him to police custody till May 22.

Police alleged that he had made provocative comments during the Assembly elections and was also accused of spreading rumours regarding EVMs.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) believed that such comments were not merely criticism but a deliberate attempt to undermine people’s trust in the democratic system.

The Commission claimed that he had tried to create confusion among the public regarding the credibility of EVMs during the elections.

According to police, a complaint was lodged with the cyber-crime department of Kolkata Police by the ECI, following which action was initiated.

In the context of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, Garga Chatterjee had questioned why EVMs were allegedly malfunctioning during the counting of votes despite being carefully sealed.

He had also advised people to carefully check the VVPAT before casting their votes.

Apart from this, ‘Bangla Paksha’ had accused the ECI of not granting permission for a procession ahead of the elections.

–IANS

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