District election authorities in Godda, Jharkhand, have initiated an inquiry into allegations of voter deletion at Booth No. 9 in Maheshtikri village, following reports that Block Level Officers (BLOs) from at least four booths had raised concerns over the submissions.

Block Development Officer Basantrai Sriman Marandi confirmed on Wednesday that a Deputy Election Officer had requested a report and a Block Panchayati Raj Officer was dispatched to Maheshtikri to conduct a field inquiry, which is expected to be submitted soon.

"the panchayat officer spoke people

"The panchayat officer spoke to the people in the village," Marandi told The Indian Express. "We are awaiting their findings, which will then be submitted to the block-level officer before being forwarded to the Deputy Election Officer."

Marandi clarified that the inquiry was focused on Booth No. 9, citing allegations from other locations as merely local discussions without concrete evidence.

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"The concerns we have received are specifically about Booth No. 9," Marandi explained. "While there were mentions of two-three other places in our conversations, we only have written documentation for this particular booth."

Marandi also highlighted that the inquiry was separate from preliminary verification ordered earlier, which had involved discussing Form 7 applications with the Block Level Officer at Booth No. 9.

"The BLO told us that 24 out of the 25 people on the list are permanent residents in the village," Marandi said. "The only person missing is a resident who was temporarily away due to work."

The Indian Express reported earlier that across at least four booths, BLOs had refused to accept Form 7 applications, flagging them as not genuine or procedurally sound.

Most of the applicants were BJP Block Level Agents, while many voters against whom forms were filed belonged to minority communities. In Booth No. 9 alone, 25 such forms were filed against voters, with concerns raised

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Marandi stated that the administration would wait for the formal inquiry report before assessing the Booth No. 9 complaints further.

"We have clarified to the BLOs now that if they are unsure about a Form 7 objection, they should discuss it with the election official concerned rather than refusing to accept the application," Marandi said.

Marandi also mentioned speaking with Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar, who advised that Form 7 applications should be accepted and processed according to prescribed procedure.