Five booth-level officers (BLOs) have been suspended after a local BJP worker was allegedly caught photocopying more than 3,000 Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral forms containing voters’ personal details at a shop in Navi Mumbai, an official said on Saturday.
The incident came to light when a local Shiv Sena (UBT) leader allegedly caught Suraj Patil, an office-bearer of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), with 3,404 SIR forms belonging to the Panvel Assembly constituency at a shop in Kharghar, the official said.
Authorities were alerted, following which revenue officials verified the seized documents. The nayab tehsildar subsequently lodged an official complaint, and a case was registered against Patil, the official said.
According to district officials, the seized documents were authentic SIR forms from the 188 Panvel Assembly constituency and contained voters’ photographs, personal details and the official signatures of BLOs.
“Our officers verified the documents and found that they were indeed original and were the responsibility of the BLOs. Hence, we suspended five BLOs from that area,” the Raigad Collector said.
Kharghar police have registered an FIR against Patil under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Representation of the People Act.
Police said Patil was detained and served a notice in accordance with standard legal procedure before being released.
(With inputs from PTI)