Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh State Human Rights Commission (APSHRC) has acknowledged a complaint filed by Rita Chakma against the Changlang district election officer (DEO), the electoral registration officer (ERO) and additional deputy commissioner of Bordumsa.
The complaint, dated June 1, 2023, accuses the officials of inaction regarding a forged voter ID allegedly created by Drishya Muni Chakma.
Drishya Muni is the same individual who had filed his candidature for the Bordumsa-Diyun constituency in the assembly elections earlier this March.
The complaint from Rita Chakma alleged that Drishya Muni has been residing in Arunachal without the required Inner Line Permit (ILP), in violation of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873.
She claimed that Drishya Muni fraudulently obtained a voter ID in 2022 without providing proof of residence, listing his house number as “AVOIPUR,” representing the entire village in the Diyun-Bordumsa constituency.
According to Rita, the Election Commission of India’s requirements for new voter enrollment under “Form No.6: Application Form for New Voters” stipulate that two sets of documents must be provided: proof of residence and details of family members already included in the electoral roll at the current address.
Since Drishya Muni and his family are not residents of Avoipur village, he could not provide these proofs and instead listed the entire village as his house number.
The complaint also highlights that voter ID records show Drishya Muni as the son of Nilo Chandra Chakma from Kurbalavasora village, Chawngte Post Office, and Borapansury Police Station in Lawngtlai district, Mizoram.
His entry into Arunachal Pradesh without an ILP further violates the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.
Despite a directive from the state chief electoral officer on June 19, 2023, to take appropriate action against Drishya Muni, no decision was made after a hearing by the ERO and ADC of Bordumsa on August 23, 2023.
Consequently, Drishya Muni was included in the Electoral Roll 2024, dated January 5, 2024, with the same false data.
Rita Chakma had then filed an appeal with the chief electoral officer on January 22, under Section 26 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, against the illegal inclusion of Drishya Muni in the 2024 electoral roll.
The deputy commissioner heard her appeal on February 15, but no decision has been made to date.
Subsequently, Drishya Muni filed his nomination as an MLA candidate for the Bordumsa-Diyun assembly constituency using a forged voter ID.
“The APSHRC deems it very serious that the ERO of Bordumsa-Diyun of Changlang district did not make a decision on the complaint despite the hearing on August 23, 2023, and the DEO, Changlang district, did not take any decision in the appeal case heard on February 15, 2024. This allowed a person against whom complaints of cheating and forgery regarding his voter ID are pending to continue as a voter and submit a nomination,” stated the order issued by Bamang Tago, a member of the Commission.
The APSHRC has directed the ERO of Bordumsa-Diyun and the DEO to submit a detailed reply to the complaint and the entire proceedings of the hearings held on August 23, 2023, by the ERO and the appeal heard by the DEO on February 15 this year.
They must also explain why the Commission should not recommend an appropriate inquiry against them within 15 days. If no reply is received, the Commission may take coercive steps under Section 13 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, requiring personal appearance before the Commission to submit the report, the APSHRC said.
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