Names of 58 voters included in electoral rolls: Dudi

Pune DEO Jitendra Dudi said names of 58 voters from Bhosari assembly constituency whose addresses were changed without their knowledge have been included in the electoral roll

Pune: Jitendra Dudi, Pune district election officer (DEO), informed that the names of 58 voters from the Bhosari assembly constituency whose addresses were changed without their knowledge have been included in the electoral roll.

Pune DEO Jitendra Dudi said names of 58 voters from Bhosari assembly constituency whose addresses were changed without their knowledge have been included in the electoral roll. ((PIC FOR REPRESENTATION))

“The addresses of 60 voters of that constituency were changed to other constituencies without their knowledge before the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. Two of these voters have passed away since then. We have now added the remaining 58 voters in the voters list,” said Dudi, who is also the Pune district collector.

According to Dudi, these voters had filled up Form 6 after which their names were added in the electoral roll.

“We lodged a case against a person at Nigdi police station on November 1 under the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The person was involved in changing the addresses of these 60 voters. He had submitted all the applications (Form 8) to the election department. None of these voters was aware of it,” he said.

“We are getting all the details about the said person’s background. And what was his motive for filing applications on behalf of these voters,” added the DEO, adding that the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO) of the state has been informed.

Sources in the Pune election department said that addresses of these voters were changed to Thane, Khadakvasla, Nashik East, Kothrud, Pimpri, Khed Alandi and Ambegaon.

Pune DEO sources said that an explanation has been sought from the concerned electoral officer on how the addresses could have been changed without field verification.

In November last year, the office of the state CEO had asked the Pune DEO to probe the issue after an NCP(SP) leader, Ajit Gavhane, registered a complaint with the office of the CEO giving the names of all the 60 voters.

Gavhane said, “During the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the names of these voters were deleted following the change of their address. These voters were taken aback when they found that their addresses were altered.”

The Pune DEO received reports from eight election officers from Thane, Khed Alandi, Ambegaon, Khadakvasla, Nashik East, Bhosari, Kothrud and Pimpri on the issue. These DEOs confirmed that the names of these voters do not figure in the respective electoral rolls.