Shirdi Saibaba's name found in voter list, case registered in Ahmednagar

SHIRDI: In an unusual and shocking incident, an unidentified person allegedly tried to insert the name of Shirdi Sai Baba as a voter in the local assembly constituency in Ahmednagar district through the online system of the Election Commission, an official said on Wednesday. The matter was detected by the authorities during scrutiny of online forms and approached the police. The Shirdi temple was given as the address of Sai Baba.

The matter came to light during scrutiny, following which Sachin Mhaske, the Nayab Tehsildar (Election Branch), Rahta, lodged a complaint with the police on Wednesday, he said.

A case was registered against an unidentified person under various sections of the IT Act and further investigation is underway, he said. "Somebody made an attempt to enroll Saibaba's name as a voter by filling form no. 6 (for voter registration). The incident came to light during scrutiny of forms," Mhaske said.

The case was initially transferred to the Cybercrime branch in Ahmednagar district, but the matter was again shifted back to the Rahta Police, which delayed the investigation into the incident, Pardeshi said.

The incident occurred on December 4, 2017, said Rahta police station inspector Arun Pardeshi. "An unidentified person on December 4 accessed the online registration system of the EC and tried to register Saibaba's name as a voter from Shirdi assembly segment. The person mentioned Saibaba's age as 24 and his father's name as Ram. The person mentioned the famous temple in Shirdi as the address of Saibaba," he said.

Saibaba, also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was a spiritual master who is regarded by his devotees as a saint, a fakir, a satguru and an incarnation (avatar) of Lord Shiva and Dattatreya. Thousands of devotees daily throng the famous shrine in Shirdi.