In West Bengal hundreds of Aadhaar cards were found dumped in a pond in Burdwan district.The incident happened during the ongoing Special Intensified Revision (SIR) of the state’s voter list, raising questions about possible misuse or foul play.

The cards were discovered on Wednesday in Lalitpur when local residents were cleaning a pond. They noticed a heavy sack floating in the water and, upon opening it, found it filled with hundreds of Aadhaar cards. Police later confirmed that most of the addresses on the cards belonged to people living in nearby Hamidpur and Pila areas.

The incident has shocked the local community. Many residents expressed concern that such a large number of Aadhaar cards being dumped could affect the integrity of the voter list revision. Authorities have ruled out the possibility that the cards were accidentally thrown away. Instead, they suspect that it might have been done deliberately. Police teams are now investigating how the cards ended up in the pond. They are questioning nearby residents and checking whether the recovered cards are real or fake.

The discovery has sparked a political war between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition BJP. BJP leader Debabrata Mandal said the timing of the incident, just as the voter list revision began, suggests something suspicious. The BJP’s West Bengal unit also raised the issue on social media, accusing the state government of mishandling sensitive identity documents. The party has demanded an investigation and more transparency in the voter list revision process.

Trinamool MLA Tapan Chatterjee, who visited the site, said the party had no role in the matter. He suggested that the cards might be duplicates that were created illegally in the past and later discarded after government checks. He also accused the BJP of using the issue to create panic and confusion among voters.

The Special Intensified Revision (SIR) process, which began on November 4, is being conducted in 12 states and Union Territories to update and verify voter rolls. It will continue till December 4. While the Election Commission has said the exercise is routine, in politically charged West Bengal it has become another flashpoint between the TMC and BJP, each blaming the other for trying to politicize the issue.