5 BLOs suspended after BJP worker caught photocopying 3,404 SIR forms in Navi Mumbai

Thane: Five booth-level officers (BLOs) have been suspended after a local BJP worker was caught photocopying more than 3,000 Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral forms containing voter details at a shop in Navi Mumbai, an official said on Saturday.

The matter came to light when a local Shiv Sena (UBT) leader caught Suraj Patil, an office-bearer of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), with 3,404 SIR forms belonging to the Panvel assembly constituency at a shop in Kharghar, the official said.

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The authorities were alerted, and revenue officials verified the seized documents, following which the nayab tehsildar filed an official complaint, and a case was registered against Patil, he said.

According to district officials, the seized documents consisted of authentic SIR forms from the 188 Panvel assembly constituency, containing voters' photographs, personal details, and official BLO signatures.

"Our officers verified the documents and found that they were indeed original and were the responsibility of the BLOs. Hence, we suspended five BLOs from that area," the Raigad collector said.

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The Kharghar police have registered a first information report (FIR) against Patil under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Representation of the People Act.

Patil was detained and served a notice as per standard legal procedure before being released, police said.