Chennai | A major controversy has emerged after the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, with around 25 foreign nationals arrested or detained for allegedly casting votes using fraudulent documents and false identities. According to investigating agencies, several suspects were found carrying foreign passports while indelible ink marks — used to indicate that a person has voted — were detected on their index fingers.
Sources associated with the probe said the operation has been underway for nearly a week. Officials from the Bureau of Immigration, along with local police units, intensified surveillance at Chennai, Madurai and other airports after receiving intelligence inputs that certain foreign nationals were attempting to leave the country soon after voting.
Registration Begins for FutureCrime Summit 2026, India’s Largest Cybercrime Conference
Investigators said a large number of those detained were Sri Lankan nationals, while some held British and Canadian citizenship. Authorities suspect that many of the individuals arrived in Tamil Nadu shortly after the election notification was issued. Agencies believe some of them deliberately remained in the State for several days after polling so that the indelible ink marks on their fingers would fade before they attempted international travel.
One of the most significant cases involves a person of Indian origin who allegedly acquired British citizenship in 2015 but still managed to vote in the Pattukottai Assembly constituency. Officials intercepted him at Chennai International Airport while he was preparing to board a flight to London. During verification, investigators reportedly found documents linked to both foreign citizenship and Indian electoral identity.
Preliminary investigations have also indicated that some suspects may have retained their names in electoral rolls using fake residential addresses, outdated Indian identity documents and manipulated records. Authorities suspect that more foreign nationals who allegedly participated in voting may still be present in India and have not yet attempted to depart.
Investigation teams are now matching immigration records, airline travel history, voter lists, EPIC cards and digital entry data to establish the movement and eligibility status of the detained individuals. Officials said digital tracking and travel timelines could help confirm whether the accused were present in India during the polling period and whether they illegally exercised voting rights.
Legal proceedings have reportedly been initiated under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and other applicable laws. Investigating agencies have also submitted a detailed report to the Election Commission of India. However, officials declined to comment on whether the alleged bogus voting could have influenced the outcome of any constituency.
According to officials involved in the investigation, immigration authorities had similarly requested the removal of nearly 100 names of foreign citizens from electoral rolls in 2025 after verification revealed that several individuals possessing foreign passports were also holding Indian voter identity cards. This year too, approximately 60 names of foreign nationals were reportedly deleted from voter databases during scrutiny exercises.
Under Election Commission rules, only Indian citizens are eligible to vote as “overseas electors.” Any individual who acquires citizenship of another country automatically loses the right to vote in India. Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are allowed to vote only if they retain Indian citizenship and produce an original Indian passport at the polling booth.
Cyber and identity fraud expert and former IPS officer Prof. Triveni Singh said identity-based electoral fraud is increasingly emerging as a serious threat to both national security and democratic systems. According to him, stronger coordination between citizenship databases, immigration records and electoral verification systems is essential to prevent such incidents in future elections.
