Five Booth Level Officers were suspended after 3,400 enumeration forms related to the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls were found at a photocopy shop in Navi Mumbai, triggering a clash between Shiv Sena (UBT) and BJP activists, police and district officials said. File
| Photo Credit: Ramakrishna G.
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 (August 29, 2026).
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.
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 Mr. 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.
The Kharghar police have registered a first information report (FIR) against Mr. Patil under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Representation of the People Act.
Mr. Patil was detained and served a notice as per standard legal procedure before being released, police said.
Sena (UBT) workers alleged that Mr. Patil managed to flee the Kharghar police station shortly after being brought in for questioning. The incident triggered a clash between Shiv Sena (UBT) and BJP activists.
Shiv Sena (UBT) office-bearer Balesh Bhojane questioned how SIR forms filled out by ordinary voters reached private individuals and alleged that BJP youth wing functionaries were connected with the incident.
However, Panvel Municipal Corporation Mayor and BJP leader Nitin Patil claimed that party workers had no connection with the matter.
Opposition NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar said suspension of the BLOs was not enough and alleged that the incident exposed the manner in which the SIR process was being conducted.
“We have been saying that the BJP is using this process to ensure its poll victory and this incident proves us right,” he said.
Mr. Pawar alleged he had sought a response from the Election Commission over the incident, but the authorities had passed the responsibility to the Election Commission of India.
“Suspending only the BLOs is not enough. The authorities who instructed them should also be suspended, and action should be taken against the BJP workers involved,” Mr. Pawar added.
He said there could be many such incidents that have not been detected, and sought a response from the Election Commission.
Published – August 29, 2026 08:05 am IST