3 Afghan nationals 'attempt' to enrol names in Jharkhand electoral rolls, probe begins

Three Afghan nationals allegedly attempted to get their names enrolled in the electoral rolls during the SIR exercise in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur, an official said on Wednesday.

The district election officer (DEO) of East Singhbhum district has formed a probe committee to ascertain how their names came to be included in the draft electoral rolls of the Jamshedpur East Assembly constituency, he said.

"A verification process is under way across the state under SIR. In the course of verifying enumeration forms received, three cases came to light where three suspected Afghan nationals registered their names. We are examining how their names appeared on the rolls in the first place and the nature of the fraudulent documents they originally submitted," Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar told PTI.

He said the authorities were also investigating who was listed as their relation, essentially scrutinising the entire process that preceded their entry into the electoral rolls.

"We need to determine exactly how the fraud was perpetrated and whether these individuals acted alone or in collusion with others. An inquiry into these matters has already begun, and appropriate legal action will be taken once the investigation is concluded," Kumar said.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer, East Singhbhum, Rajeev Ranjan said a probe committee headed by Sub-Divisional Officer (Dhalbhum) Arnav Mishra had been formed to investigate the matter.

"In the course of the verification process, we had sent their passports to the passport office for examination, and the officials concerned suspected that the passport holders are nationals of Afghanistan," the DC told reporters on Wednesday.

The passport of one of them has been cancelled, while a similar process is underway in the case of the other two, who allegedly attempted to get their names enrolled in the voters' list in the Jamshedpur East Assembly constituency, Ranjan said.

The SIR process was meant only for Indian citizens and not foreigners, he said, adding that the authorities can initiate action if anyone fails to provide valid documents.

Documents of each eligible voter are also being examined as part of the process, the DC added.

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 SIR enumeration exercise began. Following the 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.