Fact Check: Maharashtra EVM Tampering Claim Is FAKE; Dismissed Police Official Was Not On Election Duty
Police officer Ranjit Kasle’s claim of EVM tampering during Maharashtra assembly elections is fake and when he made this statement he was under suspension and now he has been dismissed from police service after departmental action. Also, Kasle was not a part of any election duty during Maharashtra assembly elections, rather he was posted at Beed Cyber Police Station during this time.
- By: Abhishek Parashar
- Published: Apr 25, 2025 at 12:09 PM
- Updated: Apr 25, 2025 at 01:24 PM
New Delhi (Visvas News). After Maharashtra assembly election results and the formation of a new government under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in December, there were allegations of EVM tampering in some quarters. More recently, a viral post has claimed that a police official said he witnessed the tampering and was given ₹10 lakh to remain silent.
Vishvas News found this claim to be fake. The Central Election Commission (CEC) refuted the allegation, stating that dismissed police sub-inspector Ranjit Kasle – who made the claim – was not involved in any election duties during the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Elections. The Beed District Election Officer has been instructed to take action against Kasle.
What is viral?
Social media user ‘hac_studios_hrf’ shared the viral infographics which reads, “Maharashtra: EVM tampered in front of me, given Rs 10 lakh to keep mouth shut: Sub Inspector Ranjit Kasale.”
Investigation
Keyword search based on the claim made in the viral post led us to an X post on the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on April 18, 2025. This post was a comment on another X user’s post, in which Kasle can be heard making the alleged statement. Responding to this, the Election Commission wrote, “Allegation comes from a disgruntled police officer(under suspension).Though strict legal admin. protocol in which EVMs are placed, there is no possibility of removal of EVMs, a report has been called from DM&SSP through the CEO, considering its seriousness. Action(s) will follow the report.”
After this, on April 19, 2025, on the basis of the official statement of the DEO i.e. District Election Officer and SSP (Beed), the Election Commission rejected the allegations of Police Sub-Inspector Kasale and said, “He was not on election duty during the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The purpose of the allegations is to disrupt public peace and harmony, to incite people to violence against the state.”
The Election Commission also said it had instructed Beed DEO to take action against Kasale.
Beed DEO issued a statement in this regard, which stated: “The Maharashtra Assembly election in Parli was transparent and peaceful. Dismissed Police Sub-Inspector Ranjeet Kasle’s social media video made serious allegations, claiming he was deployed where EVMs were stored post-election and then removed to enable tampering. He alleges his removal aimed to tamper with EVMs. This is to clarify that dismissed police officer Kasale was not assigned any election duty in the Parli Assembly Constituency during the election. He was neither on duty during the election process nor deployed at the strong room or in vote counting management.A three-tier security protocol for EVMs was in place. The innermost layer has CISF personnel, the second layer (outside the building) has State Reserve Police personnel, and the outermost layer comprises District Police personnel.”
Vishvas News contacted Navneet Kawat, Senior Superintendent of Police, Beed, regarding the matter. He said, “Ranjit Kasle has been dismissed from service and was under suspension when he made the allegation of EVM tampering.” He confirmed, “Kasale was not a part of any election duty in any way during the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 24.”
It is worth noting that the results of Maharashtra Assembly elections came on 23 November 2024 and according to the election results, BJP got a total of 132 seats, Shiv Sena (SHS) 57, NCP 41, Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) 20, Indian National Congress 16, and NCP (SP) got 10 seats.
While the NCP-Sharad Pawar faction candidate won the Beed assembly seat, NCP candidate Dhananjay Panditrao Munde won the Parli assembly seat.
The post of the user who shared the viral post with the fake claim has been liked by about two thousand people and has been reshared 60 times.
Conclusion: Police officer Ranjit Kasle’s claim of EVM tampering during Maharashtra assembly elections is fake and when he made this statement he was under suspension and now he has been dismissed from police service after departmental action. Also, Kasle was not a part of any election duty during Maharashtra assembly elections, rather he was posted at Beed Cyber Police Station during this time.
- Claim Review : EVM tampering done in front of Maharashtra Police sub-inspector.
- Claimed By : Thread User-hac_studios_hrf
- Fact Check : False
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