3 weeks ago
Jharkhand CEO Orders FIRs Over Allegedly Fake Electoral Documents
Election officials in Jharkhand are checking whether people used false papers to join the voter list.
Four people allegedly submitted fake residential certificates.
A Common Service Centre operator, Mohammad Salim, was accused of preparing or supplying the papers.
The cases were found in the Barharwa area of the Pakur assembly constituency.
Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar visited the homes involved and checked records.
He told officials to investigate suspicious documents carefully.
Reports differ on whether the police had already registered the cases or were waiting for a formal complaint.
The checks are part of a larger review of Jharkhand’s electoral rolls.
Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar ordered action against four applicants and a Common Service Centre operator over alleged fake documents.
Rubeda Bewa, Rabi Sheikh, Pintu Sheikh and Sentu Sheikh allegedly submitted false residential certificates to seek voter-list inclusion.
Mohammad Salim was identified as the Common Service Centre operator who allegedly prepared or provided the certificates.
The cases emerged during verification of complaints from Barharwa in the Pakur assembly constituency.
Reports differ on procedure: one says police would register FIRs after receiving a complaint, while another says separate FIRs had already been registered.
- Who
- Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar, four alleged applicants—Rubeda Bewa, Rabi Sheikh, Pintu Sheikh and Sentu Sheikh—and Common Service Centre operator Mohammad Salim.
- What
- Authorities ordered or reportedly registered FIRs over alleged submission, preparation and supply of fake documents for electoral-roll inclusion.
- Where
- The alleged cases were identified in Barharwa block, within the Pakur assembly constituency, in Jharkhand’s Santhal Pargana region.
- When
- The report is dated September 5; the CEO was on a four-day visit, and the electoral-roll enumeration took place from June 30 to July 29.
- Why
- Officials said the documents were allegedly used to obtain voter-list inclusion and that some certificates may have been issued in violation of government norms.
Key facts
- Alleged applicants
- Rubeda Bewa, Rabi Sheikh, Pintu Sheikh and Sentu Sheikh
- Named operator
- Mohammad Salim, a Common Service Centre operator
- Location of cases
- Barharwa block, Pakur assembly constituency, Jharkhand
- Draft-roll publication
- August 5
- Names deleted from draft rolls
- More than 43.61 lakh
- Electors before and after draft revision
- 2.64 crore before the exercise; 2.21 crore in the draft rolls
- Current deadlines
- Claims and objections by September 15; final revised rolls scheduled for October 19
Quotes
K Ravi Kumar
Jharkhand’s Chief Electoral Officer
“We received some complaints from the Barharwa block under the Pakur assembly constituency. During the investigation, some cases of fake documents submitted were found. A Common Service Centre operator was also identified who was providing fake certificates. Directions have been issued to lodge FIRs against them.”
theprint.in
“If the investigation confirms that an individual has deliberately submitted incorrect or forged documents, action must be taken against them in accordance with prevailing legal provisions.”
theprint.in
Sources
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