1 month ago
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The Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) presumption of overseas nationals who voted successful the caller Assembly elections successful Tamil Nadu has travel nether scrutiny, authoritative sources said connected Tuesday (May 19, 2026).
The fig of foreigners of Indian root who voted successful a fraudulent mode has accrued to 30.
Action planned
Their declaration portion applying for the OCI card that they had surrendered their elector individuality cards oregon deleted their sanction from the electoral rolls volition beryllium treated arsenic a mendacious declaration and enactment volition taken nether law, the sources said.
The OCI application signifier has a clause which states that if it is recovered that the registration (as an OCI cardholder) was obtained by means of fraud, mendacious representation, oregon concealment of immoderate worldly fact, the registration of specified a idiosyncratic volition beryllium cancelled forthwith and he/she volition besides beryllium prevented from entering India.
While instrumentality enforcement agencies were analysing the accomplishment and departure details of Indian-origin overseas nationals successful the past 30 days, those arrested successful Chennai, Madurai, and different places volition not beryllium allowed to instrumentality to their respective countries until the completion of the case.
Court order
However, they could question aft obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the competent authorization oregon an bid from the designated court, the sources said.
An investigation of the foreigners who arrived successful Tamil Nadu since April 15, 2026, revealed that a sizeable fig of them were of Indian root and came to sojourn their families. “During the summertime holidays, astatine slightest 30%-35% of the overseas nationals arriving successful the State are OCI cardholders. We are trying to find retired however galore them exercised franchise and whether immoderate peculiar radical oregon bureau facilitated oregon funded their information successful the election,” a elder State constabulary serviceman told The Hindu.
Crucial evidence
Acting connected peculiar intelligence, migration officials, successful coordination with the State police, intercepted respective foreigners who were astir to committee flights to their respective countries from Chennai and Madurai. The indelible ink (the people of a formed ballot) recovered connected their scale fingers was important grounds to corroborate that they had voted and capable crushed to apprehension oregon detain them. Those arrested oregon detained for enquiry were passport-holders of Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Canada, Indonesia, Australia, and different countries, the sources said.
The migration authorities wrote to the constabulary and handed the foreigners implicit to them. The foreigners were booked connected the charges of cheating and usurpation of provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
Any mendacious declaration successful the OCI application forms and successful the forms fixed nether the Special Intensive Revision meant to region migrated oregon deceased voters would pull enactment nether different provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the sources said.
Meanwhile, officials of a fewer overseas missions were successful interaction with the migration authorities to cheque whether immoderate of their nationals was arrested for the alleged fraudulent voting, the sources said.
