An old video showing two men removing slips from VVPAT machines in a strong room, is being shared online with a false claim that it shows Bharatiya Janata Party members engaging in EVM (electronic voting machine) fraud during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
BOOM found that the video dates back to December 2022 and was taken during the Gujarat Assembly Elections. Two election officials at the time clarified that the video shows no wrongdoing, rather a procedure laid down by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The video shows a man opening a sealed box and removing the slips (votes) from the VVPAT machine. He then puts the slips in a black envelope, closes the box and then places a blank roll of slips on top of it. The person recording the video captures the entire strong room, which is full of similar sealed boxes.
A user on X shared the video with the caption, "BJP workers caught switching VVPAT slips in EVM machines. @ECISVEEP ofcourse will do NOTHING! All 3 of them are salivating over the prospect of gubernatorial appointments after helping Modi steal this #LokSabhaElections2024! Free and Fair elections my a**e! "
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The post is also circulating on Facebook with the caption, "What's Happening here ?? Who are these people?? Is Tampering of EVM happening?? Where the hell is our @ECISVEEP ??"
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FACT CHECK
BOOM had previously debunked this claim in December 2022 when it was circulating in the backdrop of the Gujarat Assembly Elections.
At the time, the video was viral with the claim that it was shot in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. We reached out to SN Katara, Deputy Election Officer in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, who informed that the video showed the individual following regular procedure laid down by the EC.
"After the counting is over, the slips are transferred to the black cover. The leftover roll is then to be put aside. The EVMs go their own way, and this is how the slips are taken out of the VVPAT. The procedure is being followed properly," he said.
Katara also stated that he could could not verify whether the video was from Bhavnagar, since the video had no clues to confirm it.
The District Election Officer and Collector of Bhavnagar, D K Parekh, had also refuted claims of EVM fraud and said, "We have followed the process laid down by the Election Commission. To maintain transparency during the election, we videograph this process and even invite the candidates to be present during the same."
On the video itself, Parekh said, "This particular video has been taken by an unauthorised person. We have launched an inquiry into the incident. That apart, the process we have followed is in accordance with all the rules."
We also found a circular by the ECI titled 'Removal of VVPAT slips from VVPATs after completion of Counting of Votes', that details this process. A part of the circular with instructions about handling VVPAT slips can be found below:
DK Parekh had, at that time, also shared similar instructions on his X account, replying to a user asking to verify the video.
"The only thing we need to investigate as of now is how the video got out from an unauthorised source. Otherwise, there is nothing illegal happening in it," Parekh added.