New Delhi: After a complaint was filed by The Election Commission of India (ECI), an FIR has been registered against Syed Shuja, who claimed he could hack electronic voting machines (EVMs) by isolating their frequency. On November 30, the Mumbai Cyber Police filed a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the IT Act, as per officials.
FIR registered at Cyber Police Station in South Mumbai
The complaint was lodged by the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), who called Shuja’s claims as “false, baseless, and unsubstantiated”. The FIR was registered at the Cyber Police Station in South Mumbai.
The action by the Election Commission comes after a viral video in which Shuja claimed he could manipulate EVMs used in Maharashtra elections. Officials confirmed that Shuja had made similar allegations in 2019, leading to another FIR filed in Delhi.
In a post on X, the Maharashtra CEO’s office stated, “In a similar incident involving false claims, an FIR was lodged on the direction of the Election Commission against the same person in 2019 in Delhi who is hiding in some another country.”
False Claim Regarding EVM: A video was shared by some Social media users where a person is making false, baseless and unsubstantiated claims to hack and tamper EVMs inMaharashtra elections by isolation of EVM frequency. (https://t.co/FZ6YX6GORU)
Clarification: @ECISVEEP pic.twitter.com/OuJl33ekco
— ChiefElectoralOffice (@CEO_Maharashtra) December 1, 2024
Delhi and Mumbai police are carrying out investigations to identify those who were in contact with Shuja or involved in “malicious activities”.
The Election Commission has once again said that EVMs are standalone, tamper-proof devices that cannot connect to networks such as WiFi or Bluetooth. The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed its confidence in the integrity of EVMs.
