New Delhi, April 21 -- Wing Commander Md Shamim Akhtar (Retd) is a decorated Indian Air Force (IAF) veteran from West Bengal. He served in the IAF for 20 years, including 17 as a commissioned officer.

A resident of Kolkata, Akhtar says he got the 'shock of his life' last month when he discovered his name had been deleted from West Bengal's voter list during the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

In an interview with LiveMint in Kolkata, Akhtar says he is extremely anguished and disheartened, not just for himself, but more for lakhs of ordinary citizens whose names have been deleted from the rolls across the poll-bound state.

"Everyone in my family is on the list. I feel like I am the only one who is not In...