RTI reveals 70 cases of theft and loot of EVMs in states governed by BJP

As many as 70 cases of theft and loot of EVMs have been reported, all from states which are now being governed by the BJP. No convictions have taken place so far, a report in The Wire said, citing RTI responses from the Election Commission (EC) and EVM manufacturers Electronics Corporation of India and Bharat Electronics.

The queries, relating to a petition filed by a former Uttarakhand minister and Congress candidate Nav Prabhat, revealed administrative and security protocol violations as several machines were apparently handled by unqualified staff, it said.

What also came to the fore was the divergence in EC and Electronics Corporation of India data on the number of ballot units and control units manufactured over the year. Proper records on disposal of EVMs were not available as well, according to the report.

The revelations come in the wake of allegations by various parties of tampering of EVMs in the Assembly elections to five states held earlier this year and civic elections in Uttar Pradesh recently. The report assumes significance since the Gujarat elections are just days away.

Nav Prabhat had filed the petition against the winning BJP candidate in this year’s Uttarakhand polls, and alleged irregularities in electoral practices during the election.

“There is a clear instruction that for 45 days after counting of votes, the EVMs should not be moved out but in the case of Vikas Nagar and some other constituencies (of Uttarakhand) their EVMs were moved from Maharana Pratap Stadium in Dehradun to District Collectorate compound just a day after the counting,” Prabhat was quoted as saying, adding that such movements took place in 13 other districts.

According to the RTI responses, Electronics Corporation of India said it had manufactured 1,97,368 more control units and 3,55,747 more ballot units than those disclosed by the EC.

The petitioner also raised concern that the EC did not have clear data on disposal of EVMs and thus it was possible they were being misused, The Wire reported.

The petitioner alleged that in all 70 cases of EVM theft – in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Assam – the accused were let-off while the authorities had claimed their conviction.