Amid indications that the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls could begin in Punjab anytime, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anindita Mitra has directed officials to check and correct discrepancies in voter lists before the formal revision begins.Mitra said instructions had been issued to rectify common errors, including blurred or black-and-white photographs, tilted images and typographical mistakes in voters’ names and personal details.However, the SDM-cum-Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), Sangrur, issued more detailed directions to the District Education Officers (primary and secondary) to conduct verification of blurred, non-dimensional photographs of electors, along with removal of illogical errors and gibberish entries.The DEOs were asked to deploy booth level officers (BLOs) to identify and correct such anomalies in the electoral database and directed to use Form 8 for corrections and Form 7 in cases where deletion of names was required.Reacting to the contents of the Sangrur letter, Mitra distanced the CEO’s office from the detailed instructions. She said the CEO’s directions were limited to routine checking and correction of discrepancies and that the specific order referring to non-dimensional and non-human photographs and gibberish entries had been issued by local officials.Vikram Dev, president of the Democratic Teachers Front (DTF), said BLOs and supervisors had been asked to undertake field visits and conduct house-to-house verification. He said the directions imposed an additional burden on teachers.The issue of gibberish entries and multiple voters registered at a single address was raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently. The matter gained further attention after instances surfaced of a “Brazilian model” and even a dog allegedly being listed as voters, prompting renewed scrutiny of electoral rolls.