Lost in India, found in Nepal over a decade later, six residents of West Bengal still won’t figure on the final Electoral Rolls list. Not because their papers are not in order, or their parents are unknown, or their names are mis-spelt. But because a section in the Representation of the People’s Act, 1950 debars anyone of unsound mind from being included.
Over 100 mentally disabled Indian citizens wandering in the streets of the neighbouring hill country have been rescued and brought back to their homeland over the last six months following a lengthy process of tracing, identification and confirmation. The last group, comprising 29 individuals, include six Bengal inhabitants, who returned last Tuesday.
Inclusion of their names in the electoral rolls still remains a question. They were brought back to the country at a time when the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state has already neared the concluding stage.
A Nepal-based NGO has identified 106 destitute Indians roaming in Nepal since December 2014. Of them, 96 could return to India. The current group of 29 comprise 17 males and 12 female Indian citizens.
Shraddha Rehabilitation Foundation, an NGO headquartered at Boriveli, Mumbai, got the active cooperation of Manavsewa Ashram, a cross border associate organisation in Biratnagar City, Nepal. They have consistently been in league towards the salvation and repatriation of the destitute, mentally challenged Indians since July 2025, an official of the Mumbai organisation said.
“We have secured the return of 96 persons since our agreement with Manavsewa came into effect. The current 29 Indian citizens were rescued by the Baglung, Janakpur, Sarlahi, Jhapa and Biratnagar branches of the Nepali organisation,” Dr Bharat Vatwani, head of Shraddha Rehabilitation Foundation, told The Statesman. “They arrived at our Mumbai office via Jabalpur and will undergo extensive treatment and counseling for nearly a month. They will be relocated to their respective hometowns only after our team of physicians find them fit and sound.”
On 5 November, 2025, Naveen Shrivastava, Indian Ambassador in Kathmandu was approached by West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC) volunteers for the shifting of Abhishek Ghosh of Panihati Municipal area of North 24 Parganas from Nepal. Abhishek (31), a mentally challenged youth, had gone missing for several years. On 9 September, the counterparts of WBRC in Nepal located him at the Manavsewa Ashram in Biratnagar. Abhishek is among the 29 repartees that returned yesterday.
Apprehending enmasse deletion of the names of the Bengal citizens rescued from Nepal, the WBRC pursued the issue with the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, which however failed to have an impact as the citizens could only be brought back to India when SIR process was nearing completion. Ambarish Nag Biswas, WBRC secretary, said: “We apprehended mass rejection of the names of such persons from the electoral rolls and approached the Election Commission.”
Though ECI officials stated that revision of rolls has always been an ongoing process, Dr Subrata Gupta, Special Roll Observer, told The Statesman: “There’s nothing to worry about enrolment if they have valid documents. But persons with mental disabilities, so far within the given framework, don’t have the right to cast votes.” Section 16(1)(b) of the Representation of People’s Act, 1950, states that the name of a person already registered on the rolls becomes disqualified for being of unsound mind, and his name must be immediately struck off by the registration officer.
Besides Abhishek, five others hail from Bengal districts like Balurghat, South 24 Parganas, Nadia and Uttar Dinajpur, stated Parbati Tiwari, Morang district coordinator of Manavsewa Ashram. She also stated that 15 of such persons were from different locations in Bihar, five from Uttar Pradesh, one each from Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh and Tripura. There’s a bleak possibility that they would be accommodated in the rolls. Dr Vatwani said: “It’s not our lookout whether they are on the rolls or disqualified. We continue bringing such ‘helpless’ citizens back to their homeland out of humanity.”