Allegations of using fake voter ID cards cropped up two days after the Youth Congress announced the result of its organisational poll.
Published Nov 22, 2023 | 1:28 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 22, 2023 | 1:28 PM
Fake voter id cards. (iStock)
The Kerala Police on Tuesday, 21 November, took into custody three Youth Congress workers in connection with the alleged use of fake voter ID cards during the recent organisational polls.
Laptops, mobile phones, and fake election photo identification cards were also seized from them, the police said.
Allegations of using fake voter ID cards had cropped up two days after the Youth Congress announced the result of its organisational poll.
Youth Congress leader Rahul Mamkootathil was elected president of the state organisation in the polls held a few weeks ago.
A case was registered in the matter on the direction of the Chief Electoral Officer of the state, who had received complaints that fake voter ID cards were used during the Youth Congress organisational polls.
An eight-member special investigation team was constituted to probe the case.
The three Youth Congress workers taken into police custody have been identified as Abhi Vikram, Feny, and Binil Binu, a police official said.
An FIR has been registered in the matter under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document).
Earlier, the police had said that the mobile application allegedly used for creating the fake IDs and its developer were being probed.
Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay M Kaul had, on 17 November, forwarded the complaints his office received to the state police chief, urging appropriate action against the culprits involved in the fraud.
He said, “We received a complaint this afternoon. We saw news reports that a particular political party was using the Election Commission’s voter ID cards for their internal election. It was also claimed that those were fake election ID cards.”
The Youth Congress had denied the allegations.
BJP state president K Surendran had accused a faction of the Congress in Kerala of creating fake voter ID cards and warned of its serious implications, suggesting potential misuse in general elections and for acquiring SIM cards.
“A faction of the @INCKerala created bogus Voter ID cards for the Youth Congress election in Kerala. It’s a serious offence. These artificially created fake voter IDs can be used in general elections. It can also be used to buy SIM cards. A Congress MLA is directly involved in the development of this application,” Surendran posted on X.
A fraction of the @INCKerala created bogus Voter ID cards for the Youth Congress election in Kerala. It’s a serious offense. These artificially created fake voter IDs can be used in general elections. It can also be used to buy SIM cards. A Congress MLA is directly involved in… pic.twitter.com/ebAI6Nubhx
— K Surendran (@surendranbjp) November 16, 2023
He blamed a Congress MLA for the creation of an application for creating fake IDs and claimed that top Congress leaders, including KC Venugopal and VD Satheesan, were aware of it.
Meanwhile, Youth Congress leader and Palakkad MLA Shafi Parambil dismissed the allegations as a “gimmick” by the BJP state president to maintain political relevance in Kerala.
He maintained that elections were conducted in a transparent manner and denied any malpractice.
CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan had said it was a serious matter and called for an urgent and comprehensive investigation.
The Left party had approached the Election Commission, expressing concern that the use of fake voter ID cards could pose a significant threat to democracy.
CPI(M)’s Rajya Sabha MP AA Rahim, in a letter to the Election Commission, alleged that a group had forged voter ID cards using mobile applications and other resources as proof for the Youth Congress Kerala presidential election.
Rahim urged the Election Commission to address the issue promptly to protect the credibility of the electoral system.
(With PTI inputs)
