Overview
- A Kolkata court granted Bangla Pokkho founder Garga Chatterjee interim bail on Friday and released him against a Rs 2,000 bond, with his imminent release expected to follow the order.
- Chatterjee was arrested on May 12 by the Kolkata Police cybercrime division after an Election Commission official lodged a complaint about his social‑media posts alleging problems with Electronic Voting Machines.
- Two separate FIRs were lodged in the matter: a Maidan Police Station complaint filed by a polling official and a suo‑motu FIR taken up and filed by the Kolkata Police cybercrime wing.
- Reporting and police statements say Chatterjee’s posts first raised EVM malfunction questions on April 23 and on May 4 accused the Election Commission of a “secret plan,” prompting notices and then his arrest when he did not appear to answer them.
- The case comes after the May 4 West Bengal assembly result and shows how cybercrime procedures are being used to address alleged online election misinformation, a development that could affect activists, election bodies, and public debate about voting technology.