PANVEL: Election commission officials on Thursday found 3,400 confidential voter enumeration forms pertaining to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls at a photocopy centre in Kharghar, triggering a confrontation between local BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) workers, a first information report against a Panvel resident allegedly linked to the BJP Yuva Morcha who was found photocopying the forms, and the suspension of five Booth Level Officers (BLOs) linked to a bulk of the forms.
“These are extremely confidential and important election documents. In all, election commission officials found 3,400 forms relating to 11 polling stations across Panvel, Jawale said. The Kharghar police subsequently booked Patil under section 128 of the Representation of the People Act and section 314 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), based on a complaint from the assistant collector. Panvel Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) Pawan Chandak said the forms had been uploaded on August 17 and officials would establish whether the BLOs had kept them at the shop for photocopying.
Assistant electoral registration officers subsequently visited the photocopy centre, where they found Suraj Patil, a resident of Murbhi village, photocopying enumeration forms of voters in the Panvel assembly constituency, said Jawale. The five BLOs from whose custody the bulk of the forms had gone missing were also issued show-cause notices and ordered to be suspended, Jawale said. A shocking incident has come to light in Kharghar where such forms were illegally kept in possession and photocopied in direct violation of the law,” Raigad collector Kishan Jawale said on Friday, while briefing reporters about the incident.
The opposition keeps making allegations as usual. All political parties have helped in the SIR campaign. Information relating to voter registration is available with all political parties.”
He further alleged that the ECI was “helping” remove names of voters who supported Opposition parties from the electoral rolls and suggested the SIR exercise be renamed The BJP denied any involvement in the incident. Panvel mayor Nitin Patil said, “There is not the slightest connection of BJP workers with this matter.
“This has made it clear how deceptive the SIR campaign is and how it is being conducted merely as a formality. We have repeatedly pointed out how the BJP is trying to lay the foundation for its next electoral victory through this campaign, and today’s incident has, in a way, confirmed those concerns,” NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar said in a post on X.
