Six Laborers Detained in Pune for Attempting to Vote with Fabricated Aadhaar Cards
In a significant incident of alleged electoral malpractice, Wagholi police detained six laborers on Saturday for attempting to cast their votes in the Zilla Parishad (ZP) elections using fake and fabricated Aadhaar cards. The incident occurred around 1:30 PM at the Jogeshwari Vidyalaya voting center in Kesnand, Pune.
Details of the Detention and Investigation
Senior Inspector Nandkumar Gaikwad of Wagholi police confirmed the detention, stating that all six workers hail from Uttar Pradesh or the Amrawati and Nagpur areas and do not have permanent addresses in Pune city or rural regions. The laborers arrived at voting center numbers 20 and 21 within the school premises with the fabricated identification documents.
The fraud was uncovered when alert voters raised suspicions about the individuals, prompting police personnel at the center to scrutinize their Aadhaar cards. Upon examination, both the returning officers and the police team verified that the cards, which falsely portrayed the laborers as local residents, were indeed counterfeit.
Background and Ongoing Probe
Police revealed that the detained individuals work at a construction site in Kesnand and reside in a labor camp nearby. Inspector Gaikwad emphasized that the investigation is actively pursuing several critical angles to unravel the full extent of the scheme.
The authorities are focusing on three primary questions:
- Who provided the laborers with the fake Aadhaar cards?
- Who directed or sent them to the voting center to cast ballots?
- Whether they received monetary compensation or incentives from any candidates in exchange for their votes.
This case highlights ongoing concerns about electoral integrity and the potential misuse of identity documents in Indian elections. The use of Aadhaar cards, a crucial proof of identity and residence, in such fraudulent activities raises serious security and procedural issues that authorities are now diligently investigating to ensure the sanctity of the democratic process.
