Popular Indian-Bengali actor and Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Dev has received a notice to appear before a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing. The notice also asks three members of his family to attend the same hearing.
Local councillor Mousumi Das confirmed the development. She said authorities instructed Dev and his family members to submit citizenship-related documents. Officials have not yet announced the date and time of the hearing.
Neither Dev nor his family has issued an official response so far.
Leaders from the ruling party have criticised the move. They claim the authorities targeted Dev for the SIR hearing despite his demanding schedule as an actor and an elected representative. According to them, the notice reflects an intention to harass rather than a routine verification process.
Dev was born in Ghatal of West Midnapore district, where his ancestral home is located. He later moved to Mumbai with his family due to his father’s professional commitments.
He eventually settled in Kolkata after entering the film industry. Dev currently resides in South City, a residential complex in South Kolkata.
Apart from being a leading Tollywood star, Dev has built a strong political career. Voters from Ghatal elected him as a Member of Parliament for three consecutive terms. He regularly maintains public contact and development work in his constituency.
Despite his public profile, the Election Commission has asked him to appear before the SIR panel with relevant documents. The same SIR hearing directive applies to three of his family members.
Dev is not the only figure from the film industry to receive such notice for the SIR hearing. Earlier, authorities summoned popular actor Anirban Bhattacharya to a similar hearing.
Bhattacharya originally hails from West Midnapore and later moved to Kolkata for professional reasons. Officials reportedly called him after he failed to submit documents from 2002 while filling out his enumeration form.
Authorities also issued SIR notices to actor couple Kaushik Banerjee and Laboni Sarkar, residents of Tollygunge. The couple appeared at the hearing centre on Monday morning.
Councillor Mousumi Das has questioned the Election Commission’s approach. She said repeatedly that summoning busy actors and artists serves no practical purpose. According to her, the notices suggest an unnecessary and harassing mindset.
