‘Raees Ali’ for ‘Faizan Khan’: 10,470 voter names changed in one UP seat, FIR against officers

An FIR has been filed against the three by the Assistant District Election Officer.

In its statement, the CEO said an inquiry report submitted by the Pilibhit District Election Officer showed that the computer assistant had entered 13,779 Form 8 applications for “corrections” to voter details between May 31 and August 29, 2026. However, no physical forms or supporting records relating to these entries were available at the office.

Of the 13,779 entries, “corrections” to 10,470 forms were approved. The inquiry found irregularities in all 10,470 approved entries, the statement said.

The authorities said action was underway to rectify all irregular Form 8 entries. Departmental proceedings have been ordered against both EROs, the CEO statement said, and an inquiry ordered into the role of Assistant Electoral Registration Officers.

(From left) UP Congress chief Aradhana Misra with party leaders Rajendra Pal Gautam and Supriya Shrinate in Lucknow. (PTI)

The CEO had ordered an inquiry into the Pilibhit electoral roll following complaints that different names were showing up against EPIC numbers of voters who figured in the final electoral roll published on April 10, 2026, after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Uttar Pradesh.

Separately, the CEO has directed the Pilibhit District Election Officer to scrutinise all Form 6 entries for addition of names and Form 7 entries for deletion of names made by the computer assistant between April 10 and October 21. A detailed report has been sought by Friday.]

Story continues below this ad

Speaking to The Indian Express, CEO Navdeep Rinwa said they had received complaints about irregularities in the Pilibhit electoral roll as part of a memorandum submitted by the Samajwadi Party (SP) on October 19, which also included other issues.

“The matter concerning Pilibhit was mentioned on the third and fourth pages,” Rinwa said, adding that with the CEO’s office shut due to Dussehra till October 20, they took up the matter after that, with a report sought from the District Magistrate of Pilibhit.

A complaint was also submitted by advocate Faizan Ali Khan who, on October 14, wrote to the Pilibhit district administration alleging that his name and that of his younger brother Farhan were not showing up in electoral records despite figuring in the final voter roll after the SIR. A resident of Awas Vikas Colony in Pilibhit, Khan told The Indian Express that he and Farhan had even appeared before election authorities in response to an official notice and presented documents, which were verified.

Khan said in his complaint that the name ‘Raees Ali’ appeared when his EPIC number was checked, identified as ‘son/relative of Huzaib Ali’, though his father’s name is Mushfiq Ali Khan. Against Farhan’s details, he said, the name that showed up was ‘Gufran Aslam’, ‘son of Hamid Aslam’. No person by these names existed in his neighbourhood, Khan said, adding that fictitious names had been deliberately entered, potentially depriving him and Farhan of their right to vote.

Story continues below this ad

Khan, who claimed that the administration first dismissed the discrepancies as “a technical error”, wrote that their correct details be restored, and an investigation be done to establish how the changes were made after the final roll had been published and original documents verified.

He said that the inquiry should also cover the other three Assembly constituencies of Pilibhit district – Barkhera, Puranpur and Bisalpur.

Local Congress leader Kumud Gangwar said he raised alarm bells after he got to know about the discrepancies via advocate Rehan Ali, a resident of the Pilibhit seat, who had found “altered” names against EPIC numbers of his brother and sister. Gangwar also alleged that on the dates of revision showing up on the website, no official revision exercise was conducted by the ECI.

Ali told The Indian Express he got to know about the discrepancies “by chance”, after overhearing a conversation between a voter and a computer operator, and deciding to check his own family’s records. “I alerted my neighbours and others in my booth and found more anomalies. So I informed Gangwar, who is a friend.”

Story continues below this ad

As per Gangwar, the Congress mobilised a team of 55, including volunteers, who checked entries booth by booth across the Pilibhit Assembly segment, covering 3.48 lakh voters over several days, and zeroing in on 13,150 entries showing discrepancies. “We found that most of the changes were made late in the night or on holidays or Sundays,” Gangwar claimed.

According to Gangwar as well as SP leaders, most of the voters whose details were “altered” were Muslims. As per Census 2011, roughly a quarter of the population in Pilibhit district is Muslim. The Opposition parties said that, at the time of elections, these voters could have been disqualified on grounds of mismatch.

Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are months away. In the 2022 Assembly polls, the BJP’s Sanjay Singh Gangwar had won from Pilibhit seat by a narrow margin of less than 7,000 votes. The SP candidate was second placed.

However, in 2024, the Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat was won comprehensively by the BJP, by a margin of more than 1 lakh votes.

Story continues below this ad

SP spokesperson Udaiveer Singh said the party feared discrepancies in voter lists were not confined to Pilibhit, and it would hold similar checks in around 100 Assembly constituencies across Uttar Pradesh. “We are questioning how such changes could have been made after the SIR. In particular, names of Muslim voters have been changed,” Singh said.

Congress state president Aradhana Mishra said the party will issue a circular to all 75 District Congress Committees to “verify” electoral rolls in their areas. “We will also give a representation to the ECI at the state level,” Mishra said.

BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said the party believed in “the accuracy of electoral rolls” and that all political parties had the responsibility to scrutinise voter lists during the revision process. “All parties should participate in the process rather than remain inactive and blame the ECI later,” Tripathi said.

On the “irregularities”, he said: “If someone deliberately made these changes, the matter should be investigated and action taken against the officials found guilty.”