Mumbai: While the physical verification of the electoral roll through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) will begin on June 30, election officials have successfully mapped 75% of current voters with records available in the 2002 electoral roll of the voter, their parents or grandparents.Of the state’s 9.8 crore voters, 7.4 crore have been mapped. Of the total, 17.4% names have anomaliesthatneed to be verified.In the pre-SIR mapping, urban areas with high migration have seen the lowest mapping. Three districts have reported below 60% mapping. These include: Mumbai Suburban (53.2%), Pune (54.6%) and Thane (57.5%). Also, Mumbai City is low with 62.5% mapping.By contrast, largely rural districts where there is low migration and polling booths tend to remain the same, report higher mapping. These include Hingoli (92.5%), Sindhudurg (92.3%), Ratnagiri (91.7%), Gadchiroli (91.4%), Amravati (90.7%) and Buldhana (90.4%).Meanwhile, election authorities have appealed to political parties to appoint Booth Level Agents (BLAs) at every polling station to help make the process of removing duplicate and deceased voters and registering new voters, more transparent.So far, 1.7 lakh BLAs have been appointed by political parties. Of these, the highest number amounting to 67,208 are from the BJP. This accounts for 38.7% of the total. The Shiv Sena has 49,336. The Congress has 19,576 while the SS UBT has 15,839.“The BLAs will be given the draft voter list to check for deletions. Soit’s important for political parties to appoint enough BLAs to monitor deletions,” said a senior election official.Physical visits by enumerators will take place between June 30 and July 29. The designated BLOs will conduct house-to-house visits and distribute pre-filled enumeration forms. The information needs to be verified by the voter and the form has to be signed. The enumerator will check if the information on the form is correct or needs to be changed. They will also check on absent, shifted, dead or duplicate voters. Voters will also have to provide a new photograph. —Priyanka Kakodkar

Q. The Special Intensive Revision will start tomorrow. What should voters expect?Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam (SC) The field verification is the most important phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) because the tentative mapping we carried out so far will be physically confirmed. The guiding principle of the exercise is that no eligible voter should be left out. We have completed around 76% of voters using the previous electoral rolls. It is tentative because similar names may have been wrongly mapped and only a physical verification by the booth-level officer (BLO) and by the elector can confirm whether the mapping is correct. If the mapping is correct, the elector will provide basic details and sign the form, which confirms the mapping. Until then, our mapping is not final. If it is wrong or unmapped, the elector can give correct details for the mapping and sign.Q There is widespread concern that genuine voters could be deletedSC The exercise will ensure the opposite. The law empowers the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) to determine eligibility after the prescribed legal process. Every voter can establish their eligibility before a decision. If a person’s name is available in the electoral rolls of the previous SIR, that itself is an important reference. Even if the person’s name cannot be traced, those of the parents in previous SIR electoral rolls are important links. We have carried out mapping using historical electoral records. But, this mapping is tentative and is valid only after physical verification and the elector’s signature.Q How important is field verification in urban areas?SC Urban areas are a much bigger challenge. People have shifted houses, changed constituencies and sometimes moved to different districts or states over the last two decades. Therefore, while the overall mapping is around 76%, in urban areas it is below 60%. BLOs can ask voters where they were enrolled in the previous SIR. Even if they do not remember the polling station, many remember the assembly constituency or the MLA they voted for. The Election Commission’s online search facility available on the ECI website (‘Search Your Name in the Last SIR’ button in https://voters.eci.gov.in) enables citizens to search previous electoral details across the country. The part number or polling details help locate the earlier record. Our public advertisements request citizens, particularly urban voters, to keep these details ready before the BLO visits.Q What are the three parts of the form?SC Every elector whose name appears in the electoral roll as on June 18, 2026 will receive a form pre-filled with the voter’s details. If the photograph needs updating, the BLO will take a new one using a cellphone. This is not necessary unless the existing image is blurred. The form has three parts. The first part is pre-filled with the voter’s existing details, including name, EPIC number, address, polling details and photograph, which the elector verifies during the BLO’s visit. The second part seeks details linking the elector or their parents to the last Special Intensive Revision (2002-2004) electoral roll, including the assembly constituency, part and serial number, or the name of a parent or qualifying relative appearing in the earlier roll. The third part contains the elector’s declaration, signature or thumb impression, cellphone number, or that of a close family member and Aadhaar number. If the voter cannot be mapped during the verification, they will still receive the form but will later be issued a notice to submit supporting documents during the claims and objections period before the Electoral Registration Office.Q What documents will voters need to produce?SC The SIR instructions list 11 documents (Aadhaar is 12th document but only as an identity proof), but this is only an indicative list and not an exhaustive one. Equivalent documents can also be accepted. For example, if someone does not possess a matriculation certificate, a transfer certificate or another equivalent educational document can be produced. ERO will verify these documents with the govt departments wherever necessary. All 11 documents need not be submitted, only one is required.Q Some critics say this exercise is about deleting votersSC No. People should understand the difference between a summary revision and an intensive revision. In the former, the existing electoral roll remains the base document and additions or deletions are made. In the latter, a new electoral roll is prepared. Naturally, this removes “deadwood” accumulated over the years—people who have died, permanently shifted, have duplicate registrations or cannot be traced. This should not be viewed as a deletion but as a cleaning up of the electoral roll. Whoever is available, provides the basic information and signs the form will be included in the draft rolls. Final rolls would include properly mapped electors. Electors who are unmapped or mapped with anomalies will be included in the final rolls on submission of documents. Eligible voters will remain in the electoral roll while non-genuine or obsolete entries will naturally get excluded after due process.

Mikey was allegedly killed in the early hours of May 27

Vijay SinghMumbai: A month after Mikey, a friendly community dog, was allegedly killed inside Raheja Exotica complex at Madh Island, Malvani police have identified and arrested four accused, including housekeeping staffer Vaibhav Koli, who residents describe as the main accused.The other arrested persons have been identified as Moreshwar Patil, Santosh Kapur and Dharmendra Gound. Local animal lovers thanked senior police inspector Shailendra Nagarkar and his team for investigating the animal cruelty case. They said several residents, including actor Manjiri Fadnis, reviewed CCTV footage and helped police piece together the sequence of events.Animal rights activist Xavier Santiago said most CCTV cameras inside the society had allegedly been switched off a day before Mikey was killed and his body packed in a gunny sack. “Fortunately, one camera at the adjoining Raheja Clubhouse was still functioning. With police help, we checked hours of footage and saw what happened in the early hours of May 27,” he said.According to Santiago, security guards carrying lathis allegedly forced Mikey towards the B-2 section of the society. “Koli then arrived on a scooter, entered B-2 and allegedly bludgeoned Mikey with a heavy rod. Gound allegedly provided a gunny sack to remove the body. This footage helped identify the culprits,” he said.Fadnis said residents were grateful to co-resident Sanket Kadam and other animal lovers who assisted in the investigation. She, however, questioned who had ordered the CCTV cameras to be switched off, why the society administration allegedly did not cooperate fully with police in providing CCTV DVDs, and who had instructed Koli to kill Mikey. Santiago said Mikey was an affable dog. “Why would Koli come there at 2.30am to kill him unless someone had asked him to do it? He has not revealed that name to police,” he said.Residents said this was the first time a forensic police team had visited the society premises to collect evidence after the FIR. They have also questioned why the accused security guards have not been dismissed by society, despite the arrests and available CCTV evidence.

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR/MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday demanded that the six rebel MPs from his party be disqualified, warning the Lok Sabha Speaker that failure to act would amount to violating the Constitution.Addressing rallies in Parbhani and Dharashiv, Thackeray said his party has already written to Speaker Om Birla seeking action. “The rebel MPs cannot defect by merely achieving the two-thirds mark. Such a number is important when the party takes any stand and two-thirds of its members support it. If you (Speaker) do not follow the law, you will not be able to ask others to follow the law. History will record you as the Lok Sabha Speaker who violated the Constitution,” he said.Targeting the Shiv Sena faction led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, Thackeray said they have “no future” and would be discarded by their ally. “They will be thrown away after being used by the BJP,” he said.Stepping up his attack on BJP, Thackeray linked the alleged donation theft controversy at the Ayodhya Ram temple with the party’s politics around the shrine. “You didn’t want to build the temple; you wanted to open a shop to loot in the name of Ram. The poor Hindu is naive; if you say ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to him, he forgets every issue. This is a crime not only against the country, but also against the Hindus of the world,” he said.Reiterating that the split in Shiv Sena was politically engineered, Thackeray alleged it was aimed at curbing the rise of certain BJP politicians. At the Dharashiv rally, he further accused BJP of poaching MPs from multiple parties to secure numbers for Constitutional changes.“I am ready to support BJP if it carries out military intervention in Manipur or makes PoK part of India,” he said.Referring to the flight he and Devendra Fadnavis shared from Mumbai to Nagpur, Thackeray in his public rally at Parbhani said the CM looked helpless and as someone who had lost confidence. “This is not Operation Tiger, rather it is Operation Devendra Fadnavis. Whoever is in competition for the Prime Minister’s post is being pulled down like they did to Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh. Fadnavis knows his wings are being cut and he knows it is his bosses who are doing it but he does not know whom to ask for justice,” claimed Thackeray.Fadnavis, however, brushed aside Thackeray’s criticism, saying he has the blessings of 14 crore people of Maharashtra and senior leaders of the BJP so nobody can clip his wings. “I am human and have no wings, so there’s no question of anyone cutting my wings.” he added. Fadnavis further said that political issues are secondary and these do not benefit anyone. “People are more interested in development and that is what I am focusing on,” he said. Referring to the extensive media coverage of the flight, he said the question that arises in his mind is whether he is in a political system or “a market for mad people”. “It was a service flight and two leaders travelling together on the same flight is nothing unusual. If we did go on the same flight together then why must there be so much discussion all around?” he said. “Uddhav Thackeray was sitting on one side, and I was sitting on the other. Had we been sitting together, we would have spoken with each other. Normally, once I board a flight, I watch a movie or OTT series downloaded on my mobile phone,” Fadnavis said. “From the time the flight took off until it landed I was watching it (movie/web series). So where exactly did they see any helplessness on my face?” he asked. Taking a swipe at Thackeray, Fadnavis said, “I accept his good wishes. If he had given them in 2019 the picture might have been different. Since he could not do so, I accept those good wishes now.”

ULHASNAGAR: In another setback for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC), corporator Pooja Sachin Bhoir has been disqualified after her caste validity certificate was declared invalid by the District Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee. The development comes just a month after the membership of Shiv Sena corporator Vicky Labana from Ward 6(A) was cancelled, dealing a second major blow to the party’s strength in the civic body.Municipal Commissioner Manisha Awhale issued the order cancelling Bhoir’s membership from Ward No. 1(B), which is reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (Women) category, following the scrutiny committee’s decision invalidating the caste certificate submitted during the civic elections. The disqualification has once again brought the political equations within the UMC into the spotlight. At present, the Shiv Sena and the BJP jointly share power in the civic body, with the Shiv Sena holding the Mayor’s post and the BJP the Deputy Mayor’s. However, despite being alliance partners, the two parties have frequently been at loggerheads over control of the corporation.The BJP had emerged as the single largest party by winning 37 seats in the civic elections and has repeatedly indicated its desire to install its own Mayor. Before the latest disqualifications, Shiv Sena had 36 corporators and enjoyed the support of two Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi corporators, one SAI Party corporator and one Independent, giving the ruling alliance a comfortable majority.With Bhoir’s membership now cancelled, Shiv Sena’s tally has come down to 34 following the earlier disqualification of Labana, reducing the total strength of the 78-member House to 76. The current composition stands at BJP 37, Shiv Sena 34, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi 2, Congress 1, Sai Party 1 and one Independent.Despite the loss of two corporators, the Shiv Sena, in the case of the BJP, goes against them in the civic body and continues to retain a majority with the backing of its local allies. However, political observers believe that if more corporators lose their memberships in the coming months, the balance of power could shift significantly, intensifying the tussle between the BJP and Shiv Sena over control of the civic body.By-elections are now expected in Ward 1(B) and Ward 6(A), while the memberships of several other corporators are reportedly under scrutiny over issues related to caste validity certificates and election documents. Any further disqualifications could trigger a fresh political battle and alter the power dynamics in the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation.

MUMBAI/PUNE: A Bhiwandi court Sunday remanded the three suspects arrested in the TET paper leak case in police custody till July 6, granting investigators additional time to probe the alleged racket after the Maharashtra State Council of Examination was forced to cancel the June 28 TET exam a day before it was scheduled, affecting more than six lakh candidates. Teacher organisations, meanwhile, renewed calls to review the policy of making TET mandatory for the promotion of senior teachers.The case has been registered at Bhiwandi police station taken the matter seriously and assured candidates that the exam would be conducted again without requiring them to submit fresh applications or pay exam fees. The TET was scheduled to be held at 1,028 centres across Maharashtra.

“Strict action will be taken against the culprits,” Bhuse said, adding that a fresh exam date would be announced soon. The controversy triggered political protests, with the Youth Congress staging a demonstration outside Bhuse’s official residence and demanding his resignation. The incident has reignited debate over the state’s policy of making TET a mandatory condition for the promotion of senior teachers.Separate police teams have been sent to Bihar, Delhi, Agra and Haryana to trace the alleged mastermind, Bijender Gupta of Bihar.The three arrested accused -Rajiv Shah (45) of Patna, Akash Kumar alias Suraj Singh (30), also from Patna, and Dhiraj Singh (28) of Panipat, Haryana -were produced before the Bhiwandi court under heavy police security.Since no govt prosecutor was available on Sunday, assistant commissioner of police Vijay Marathe argued the prosecution’s remand application, seeking 10 days of police custody. Judge SM Sutar granted eight days.According to the remand application, investigators need custody to determine how the confidential question papers were procured, who supplied them, whether they had been sold to candidates and whether similar leaks had occurred in the past. Police have also identified Kapil Dahiya of Sonipat, Haryana, as another wanted accused. Police sources said investigators are tracing the source of the leak through the unique QR codes printed on every paper.

The remand papers reveal that police recovered question paper booklets, several mobile phones, ATM and debit cards, cash, bank cheques and other documents from the accused.The seized mobile phones are being sent for forensic examination to retrieve chats, call records and other digital evidence, while investigators are scrutinising bank accounts to establish the money trail. Counsel for accused Dhiraj Singh, Satendra Redhu, informed the court that his client had undergone bariatric surgery three months ago and sought directions to ensure he received proper medical care while in custody.