Ranchi: Jharkhand's Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar on Saturday directed police to book five people for attempting to get their names enrolled in the electoral rolls by submitting fake documents.
On a four-day visit to Sahibganj, where verification of complaints from different districts of the Santhal Pargana region under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls was underway, he inspected cases of inclusion of names based on suspicious documents in the Pakur Assembly constituency.
"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," Kumar told reporters.
Common service centres serve as access points for the delivery of the government's e-services within the reach of people.
According to a statement from the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO's) office, the four accused -- Rubeda Bewa, Ravi Sheikh, Pintu Sheikh, and Sentu Sheikh -- allegedly submitted fake residential certificates to get their names included in the voter list.
The Common Service Centre operator was identified as Mohammad Salim, it said.
The CEO visited the houses of the accused in Barharwa and conducted an on-site inspection.
Barharwa police station in-charge Sumit Kumar Singh said they will lodge the FIR after receiving a formal complaint.
Kumar told reporters that they have found that caste certificates were being issued in violation of government norms for the SIR. "This is completely wrong. We will take action in the matter."
He directed the district election officers concerned and electoral registration officers to thoroughly verify all documents.
"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," Kumar said.
During his visit to the Santhal Pargana region, the CEO will inspect complaints about the inclusion of suspicious names in electoral rolls in Sahibganj, Godda, Dumka, and Deoghar districts, and will also hold review meetings with the election officials concerned.
The Election Commission published the draft electoral rolls in Jharkhand on August 5 after deleting over 43.61 lakh names.
The state had 2.64 crore electors before the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enumeration exercise began. Following the enumeration exercise, the draft electoral rolls contain 2.21 crore voters, including 1.12 crore men, 1.08 crore women and 260 third-gender voters.
The enumeration exercise was conducted between June 30 and July 29.
The EC has extended the deadline for filing claims and objections under the SIR of electoral rolls in the state to September 15, while the final publication of the revised voter list has been deferred to October 19, an official said.
Earlier, the claims and objections period was from August 5 to September 4, and the final electoral rolls were scheduled to be published on October 7.