24 Aadhaar, PAN & voter ID cards found dumped in garbage in Jalna; FIR filed

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The discovery of 24 Aadhaar, PAN and voter identity cards dumped in a garbage heap at Savarkar Chowk in the Sindhi Bazaar area of Jalna city on Sunday, barely three days ahead of the municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra, has raised concerns.Officials said the model code of conduct cell received a complaint, stating that 17 Aadhaar cards, three PAN cards and four voter ID cards had been found discarded at Savarkar Chowk. Additional commissioner Arjun Giram directed the flying squad of the cell to conduct an on-the-spot inspection and submit a report.The flying squad team, led by D N Hivrale, visited the spot and found the complaint to be prima facie valid, with several identity documents lying in the garbage heap. The inspection showed that all the documents were original, and not photocopies.Hivrale filed a formal complaint with the Sadar Bazaar police station, following written instructions from senior officials in the district administration. After receiving the complaint, the police registered an FIR under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), along with relevant provisions of the Representation of the People Acts of 1950, 1951 and 1989, including Section 123.Model code of conduct nodal officer and resident deputy collector Shashikant Hadgal said negligence or misuse of election-related documents and voter ID cards constituted a serious criminal offence, particularly during the election period. "The authorities have taken the incident seriously as such lapses can directly impact the integrity of the electoral process," Hadgal said.Jalna superintendent of police Ajaykumar Bansal said the gravity of the case warranted close supervision and that the investigation was being monitored at the highest level. Further action, he said, would depend on the outcome of the probe.Following the discovery, Jalna district collector Ashima Mittal said the election machinery was acting on every complaint related to violations of the model code of conduct and that a strict 24-hour deadline had been set for addressing such complaints.