The Mizoram election department on Sunday denied reports in a section of media that names of over 11,000 Bru voters camping in six relief camps in Tripura have been deleted from the Mizoram electoral roll.

State chief electoral officer (CEO) Ashish Kundra said they did not take any action related to the Bru voters in Tripura.

He said names of the Bru voters could not be deleted in a hasty manner just because of the quadripartite agreement as they have to take approval of the Election Commission and discuss the matter with the Tripura government.

He said he was completely unaware of the reports claiming that names of over 11,000 Bru refugees in Tripura were deleted by the Mizoram election department.

State assistant chief electoral officer Lalrinpuia also refuted the reports. He told The Telegraph that first of all the Tripura government will have to inform the Mizoram government about the enlistment of the Bru voters in its roll after which only deletion process from Mizoram voter list will be undertaken. “The Bru voters cannot be removed automatically from the state’s voter list unless directed by the Election Commission and deletion is sought by the Tripura government,” he said.

Reports in a section of media on Sunday said the Mizoram election department, in prompt move, has deleted names of over 11,000 refugees from their voter list keeping only 1,168 voters who returned to Mizoram recently.

The report, which created panic among the Bru refugees in six relief camps in Tripura, was taken immediately after the Union home ministry signed a four-corner agreement assuring that the Bru refugees who came from Mizoram will be rehabilitated in Tripura, the report said.

It said Mizoram’s move also created uncertainty as the Tripura government is yet to provide settlement to the refugees and enlist them in the state electoral roll.

Kundra had earlier said that the process of deletion of Bru voters from Mizoram electoral roll would be undertaken in accordance with the Representation of the People Act, 1951, once the refugees are re-settled in Tripura.