2 weeks ago
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The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered a probe into the allegations of overseas nationals casting votes successful the caller Assembly predetermination successful Tamil Nadu.
A study has been sought from the returning officers of astatine slightest 2 cities and 5 districts crossed the State connected however the foreigners managed to ballot contempt the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), authoritative sources said connected Friday (May 15, 2026).
The probe was launched aft galore overseas nationals of Indian root were arrested oregon detained by law-enforcement agencies successful Chennai and Madurai for fraudulently casting votes and migration officials sent a study to the ECI.
Senior officers who supervised the predetermination process were inquiring into however the names of foreigners were included successful the electoral rolls adjacent aft the SIR, a State-wide workout to revise the rolls done door-to-door enumeration. The workout was expected to effect successful the deletion of the names of the deceased, duplicate, permanently shifted and non-citizen voters, the sources said.
With astir 25 overseas nationals belonging to assorted countries, including Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom and Canada, being arrested oregon detained for questioning, the details of foreigners who landed successful Tamil Nadu earlier the April 23, 2026 predetermination are being verified to find retired whether they had voted.
“Some mightiness person formed a ballot and near the country. We intercepted respective radical pursuing a circumstantial input. The information of foreigner arrivals are being analysed arsenic portion of further investigation,” a constabulary serviceman told The Hindu.
The constabulary person booked those arrested nether Sections 172 (personation astatine elections) and 318(2) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), too Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which makes giving immoderate mendacious connection successful the declaration signifier a punishable offence, the serviceman said.
Asked however the names of those who had migrated to different countries and obtained citizenship determination were not deleted from the rolls, a returning serviceman said that nether a proviso of the SIR, an big elector tin motion the declaration signifier connected behalf of a household subordinate not disposable astatine home. He said that if an elector was not disposable to capable the details successful the enumeration form, immoderate big subordinate of the household could bash truthful connected his/her behalf and taxable it.
“It is suspected that this proviso could person been misused... We cannot travel to immoderate decision astatine this stage. A elaborate probe is nether way,” said the officer, who did not privation to beryllium quoted. The serviceman added that the presumption of the votes polled fraudulently and their interaction connected the predetermination results would beryllium decided by the ECI.
