Poll body deploying BLOs who ‘can’t read or write’, says Aaditya
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday said some booth-level officers (BLOs), who are "unable to read or write", were tasked with gathering information about voters in Mumbai, and alleged multiple entries of voters in the draft list.
Addressing a press conference, the former minister said that his party had filed 3,000 to 4,000 objections in each of the 227 civic wards of Mumbai.
He said that Sena (UBT) office-bearers and frontal organisations have been scanning the draft voters' lists, looking for irregularities.
Thackeray claimed that the draft voters' lists had 14 lakh voters, with multiple entries, most of whom are "Marathi, political workers and public representatives of the Opposition parties".
He further accused the state election commission of sending BLOs who cannot read or write to gather and verify information about voters.
"Those who cannot read or write are visiting people's homes as BLOs. You (poll body) are sending people who do not even know how to write or read," he said.
Demanding the suspension of officials heading poll bodies, Thackeray said the Election Commission has turned into a circus.
He cited instances of voters with multiple entries, claiming Sena (UBT) MLC Sunil Shinde's name figured seven times in the draft list with different ages, addresses and photos, while former Mumbai mayor Shraddha Jadhav's name came up eight times in the voters' list.
The names of Congress MLA Jyoti Gaikwad and Mumbai South Central MP Anil Desai also figured multiple times in the draft list, he said.
Thackeray also alleged that every poll booth has names of deceased voters, and this is despite their families submitting their death certificates.
Polls to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the richest civic body in the country, are slated to be held early next month.
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1,850 missing mobile phones recovered as Delhi Police focusses on victim-centric policing
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Police has recovered 1,850 stolen and lost mobile phones worth around Rs 4 crore in past 40 days under "Mission Reconnect", an initiative aimed at returning phones to their rightful owners in outernorth Delhi, an official said on Saturday.
The recovered phones were traced from different parts of the country, including remote areas, through technical surveillance and sustained field operations, police said, adding that the devices were handed over to their owners during a programme at the Sports Ground, New Police Lines, Kingsway Camp.
The initiative focused on a victim-centric approach and aimed at strengthening public trust through proactive policing and coordinated efforts across states, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outernorth) Hareshwar Swami said.
As part of the programme, teams performed 'nukkad nataks' and screened awareness videos on cybercrime, drug abuse prevention, and senior citizen safety, sensitising the public about digital frauds and safety measures, officials said.
The initiative combines technology, investigation and community participation to ensure recovery of lost property and reconnect citizens with their valuables, they added.
