29 August,2026 12:51 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
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Five booth-level officers (BLOs) have been suspended after a local BJP worker was allegedly found 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 case came to light after a local Shiv Sena (UBT) leader allegedly found Suraj Patil, an office-bearer of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), with 3,404 SIR forms linked to the Panvel assembly constituency at a photocopying shop in Kharghar.
Authorities were subsequently alerted, following which revenue officials examined the documents and found them to be authentic electoral forms, officials said.
According to officials, the forms were linked to the 188 Panvel assembly constituency and contained sensitive voter-related information.
The seized documents included voters' photographs, personal details and the signatures of the BLOs responsible for handling the forms.
Following the seizure, revenue officials verified the documents. The nayab tehsildar subsequently filed an official complaint, which led to the registration of a police case against Patil.
Officials are investigating how the original forms came into the possession of the BJP youth wing office-bearer and why they were being photocopied at the shop.
District officials said the forms recovered from the Kharghar shop were authentic SIR documents and had been issued as part of the electoral revision process.
"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.
The suspension of the five BLOs was based on their responsibility for safeguarding and handling the electoral documents, according to the district administration.
Authorities have not disclosed whether the five officials were suspected of directly handing over the forms or whether the documents reached Patil through another person.
The Kharghar police have registered a first information report (FIR) against Patil under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Representation of the People Act.
The case concerns the alleged unauthorised possession and photocopying of official electoral documents containing voter information.
Police said Patil was detained in connection with the matter and was later served a notice in accordance with standard legal procedure before being released.
Further investigation is underway.
The incident has raised questions about the handling and security of official electoral documents, particularly forms containing voters' photographs and personal details.
BLOs play a key role in the electoral process and are responsible for handling documents connected with voter registration and revision.
Officials said the suspension was intended to address the apparent lapse involving documents that were under the responsibility of the BLOs concerned.
Investigators are expected to examine the circumstances under which the forms were removed from official custody and taken to the photocopying shop.
(With inputs from PTI)
