INDORE: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued a notice to the State Election Commission (SEC) on a petition alleging identity theft by a woman candidate who won election for the post of village sarpanch in Rajgarh district.
Vinita (28) submitted forged documents and contested election for the sarpanch of Bhilkheda by stealing the identity of Anita (30), a former resident of the district, the petition claimed.
Petitioner Rajal Bai had lost the election to Vinita in July this year.
Vinita also took oath of the post while wearing the traditional veil under the guise of Anita, the petitioner's lawyer Manish Kumar Vijayvargiya told reporters on Thursday.
Justice Subodh Abhyankar of the Indore bench of the HC on Tuesday issued notices to the SEC and state government seeking reply in two weeks, he added.
As per the lawyer, Anita lived in Rajgarh district ten years ago and her name still figures in the voters' list in Madhya Pradesh though she now lives in Rajasthan.
Vinita's name was not there in the electoral list.
As being a registered voter in the state is mandatory for contesting elections, she submitted documents in the name of Anita, the petition claimed.
Further, she even fudged caste identity as the seat was reserved for Scheduled Tribes and both Vinita and Anita are OBC, it said.
Anita, who is illiterate and lives in Jhalawar in Rajasthan, complained to Rajgarh district authorities when she learnt about the identity theft but to no avail, the petition said.