Taking serious cognisance of claims by self-proclaimed cyber expert Syed Shuja that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) can be hacked and tampered with, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Maharashtra, has lodged a complaint with the Mumbai Cyber Police against Shuja.
Acting on the complaint by CEO, Maharashtra, the Mumbai Cyber Police have launched investigations into the claims by Shuja, who is reportedly hiding in a foreign country,
The development should be seen in the context of the fact that the Opposition parties have gone town, alleging the possibility of manipulation of EVMs and demanding a ban on the EVM machines in the country in the wake of expected outcome in the recent Maharashtra Assembly polls in which the BJP-led MahaYuti returned to power with a thumping majority.
The CEO’s action came after some social media users shared a video in which the man is heard claiming that he could hack and tamper with EVMs in the Maharashtra elections by isolating the machine's frequency - a task that he would undertake for monetary considerations.
In a post shared on micro-blogging site “X”, the CEO said: “A video was shared by some social media users where a person is making false, baseless and unsubstantiated claims to hack and tamper with EVMs in Maharashtra by isolation of EVM frequency”.
On its part, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has reposted the clarification put out by the CEO, Maharashtra.
In its clarification, the CEO, Maharashtra stated: “The Mumbai Cyber Police registered FIR No.0146/2024 at Cyber Police Station, Dakshin, Mumbai on 30 November night against the person in the video after receiving a complaint from CEO Maharashtra.An offence is lodged as per 318/4 of Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS), 2023 as well as under Clause 43 (g) and Clause 66 (d) of Information Technology Act, 2000.
“EVMs are tamperproof... EVM is a standalone machine that cannot be connected to any network including any Wi-Fi or any Bluetooth by any person whatsoever. Therefore, the question of manipulating EVMs does not arise. EVMs are completely tamper-proof,” the statement reads.
