Five BLOs Suspended In Kharghar As BJP Worker Booked Over 3,404 Voter Forms
Five Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been suspended after a BJP worker was allegedly caught photocopying 3,404 filled-in official Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral forms at a photocopy shop in Sector 19, Kharghar.
The incident led to an FIR registered at the Kharghar police station on Friday against BJP worker Suraj Patil, based on a complaint filed by Sunil Kisan Jadhav, Nayab Tehsildar of Panvel. Patil has been booked under Section 314 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 128 of the Representation of the People Act.
Officials from the Raigad Collector’s office verified that the seized documents were original forms belonging to the Election Department for the 188 Panvel Assembly constituency. The documents contained personal information collected from voters during the SIR exercise, including photographs, filled voter details, and the signatures of the respective BLOs.
"Our officers verified that the documents found were indeed original, which were the responsibility of the BLOs, and hence we suspended five BLOs from that area," said the Raigad Collector.
The activity came to light after Shiv Sena (UBT) Kharghar division chief Balesh Bhojne spotted the photocopying and alerted the authorities. Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Leena Garad alleged that Patil abused, threatened, and pushed Bhojne at the scene before police arrived. Other party leaders, including Raigad district contact chief Prasad Dada Bhoir and Panvel city chief Samadhan Kashid, also lodged complaints seeking strict action.
During the examination at Kharghar police station, revenue officials found the documents inside a cloth bag bearing the Election Commission of India logo and the text "Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls", marked with numbers 138 and 149. Due to the large volume of documents, the forms were counted and recorded according to electoral roll part numbers. They were subsequently packed into five bags, placed in a sack, sealed in the presence of panch witnesses, and deposited with the police.
Kharghar Senior Police Inspector Sanjay Joshi confirmed that Patil was detained and served a notice under standard procedure, with his statement to be recorded soon. An investigation led by API Pradip Dwarka Navnath Avhad is underway to establish how the original forms left official custody.
