Two foreigners booked for voting in elections Two foreign residents have been booked for casting votes in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu assembly elections. The individuals were intercepted by immigration officials at Chennai airport while attempting to leave the country. On May 17, a 37-year-old Sri Lankan resident named M Salmon Parsh, who resides in Pon Nagar, Trichy, was stopped at Chennai airport around 10 p.m. during an immigration check. Officials discovered that Parsh had voted in the Trichy West constituency at Seva Sangam Higher Secondary School, located on William’s Road, Cantonment. Similarly, on May 10, a 59-year-old Malaysian resident named V Ranjani, who lives in Thillai Nagar, Trichy, was intercepted while heading to Malaysia. An inquiry revealed that Ranjani had cast her vote at KAPV Higher Secondary School in Thillai Nagar. Chennai police initially registered zero FIRs under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which addresses illegal voting. They also invoked Sections 318(2) and 337 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for cheating and forgery of official documents. Due to jurisdictional considerations, both cases were later transferred to the local police stations in Trichy for further investigation. The incidents highlight the strict enforcement of electoral laws in Tamil Nadu, where unauthorized voting is considered a serious offense. The arrests underscore the authorities’ commitment to maintaining the integrity of the electoral process, even in cases involving foreign nationals. The two individuals’ actions reportedly violated the Representation of the People Act, which prohibits non-citizens from participating in elections.#tamil_nadu #chennai_airport #salmon_parsh #trichy_west_constituency #seva_sangam_higher_secondary_school
Election Commission Investigates Foreign Nationals Who Voted in Tamil Nadu Assembly Polls Central and state law-enforcement agencies, in collaboration with the Election Commission of India (ECI), are intensifying efforts to identify foreign nationals who may have participated in the recent Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. Investigators are focusing on individuals who returned to their home countries shortly after the April 23 polling, following the detection of around 40 cases involving foreign nationals of Indian origin allegedly voting in the election. The Bureau of Immigration, Government of India, has been enlisted to trace individuals who arrived in Tamil Nadu ahead of the polls and departed within two to three days of voting. The probe centers on verifying whether these individuals cast their ballots and whether their names were erroneously retained on electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. A senior state government official emphasized that if foreign nationals were found to have voted, it would constitute a violation of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The official stated that investigators are examining how such names were not removed during the SIR, which is designed to ensure voters are accurately registered. “If a voter is falsely shown to be residing in India, action will be taken against those responsible for making the false declaration,” the official said. A notable case involves a United Kingdom national of Indian origin who was detained at Chennai airport after admitting to voting in the Velachery constituency. The individual was handed over to local police for further investigation.#tamil_nadu #special_intensive_revision #election_commission_of_india #representation_of_the_people_act #chennai_airport
