PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
Police have started questioning several booth-level officers (BLOs), who were involved in making fake voter ID cards for Bangladeshi nationals in Dehradun and nearby areas. Police said that these brokers had helped prepare voter ID and Aadhaar cards without proper checking. Police have intensified their action after clear instruction was given by the inspector general (IG) Garhwal Range, Rajeev Swaroop.
Police further said that the action is part of Operation Kalnemi, which was launched in July last year on the directions of the chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami. Under this operation, police in Haridwar and Dehradun carried out large-scale checks against people who were hiding their identity by changing names or appearance. During the operation, 19 Bangladeshi nationals were arrested.
Out of these 19, nine have already been sent back to Bangladesh with the help of the Border Security Force. Legal action is still going on against the remaining ten people. During the investigation, police recovered several documents, including Aadhaar cards and voter ID cards. Many centres that illegally made these documents were also shut down.
Police officials- privy to the details- said that they are now checking whether these people also used their voting rights through the illegally made voter cards. Several BLOs have been brought under investigation and questioning is continuing, a police officer said.
