Officials from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) said Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, and electricity bills submitted as proof had been altered, with nearly 30 per cent of the objections containing tampered or fake documents.
More than 22,800 objections were filed after citizens flagged errors in the ward-wise voter draft list. Many complained that their names had been shifted in incorrect wards and even distant constituencies. The Election Commission had extended the deadline after repeated complaints, and over 10,000 objections were submitted on the final day.
During verification, PMC officials found that many of the attached documents had been forged using modern technology, and now the officials are unsure whether such objections can be accepted at all.
Om Prakash Divate, Additional Commissioner, PMC, has directed all assistant commissioners to thoroughly verify each document before clearing any objection.
“Officials inspected several locations after citizens reported that documents were being altered using AI tools. He added that the civic body will discuss further action with the municipal commissioner,” Prasad Katkar, Deputy commissioner (Election) told HT.
The use of large-scale fake documents is expected to increase the verification burden on the Pune civic body officials.
