Tamil Nadu SIR: Pallakkapatti voters cry foul after 123 living persons marked as dead

A major controversy has erupted in the Pallakkapatti panchayat under Tirumangalam taluk in Tamil Nadu after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll removed 128 voters, marked 123 as “deceased”, and five as permanently shifted. Residents allege grave irregularities, with many of those listed as dead claiming they are alive, including serving police personnel, first-time voters, and college students.

The polling station in question, previously numbered 38 and now 42, had 995 registered voters prior to the revision. Notably, the deletion list shows the first 77 entries are all marked as deceased, many under 40.

What voters said

Speaking to The Federal, affected voters expressed outrage and distress. Sivasundari, a resident, said, “There are eight people in our house. Three of them have been put on the deceased list. Officials came, inquired, and prepared the list, but it has been of no use. They have added people aged 20-30 to the deceased list; it is shocking. The officials are calling it a typing mistake.”

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Kachamani revealed that her daughter Vasanthi, who is currently serving as a police constable in Virudhunagar, has also been marked deceased. “My daughter Vasanthi works in the police in Virudhunagar. They have put her on the deceased list. We have made an appeal. We hope the officials will help,” she said.

Pallakkapatti T Rajamanickam said his 29-year-old son has been removed from the voter list. “My son is 29 years old; they say he has no vote. Declaring living people as non-existent is a crime. They say 50-60 people have no votes, but all of them are alive. It seems the officials who collected forms from us did not submit them in the proper place. Officials must act fairly,” he said.

DC promises inquiry

Residents allege that no proper door-to-door verification was conducted and that forms submitted for correction have not been processed. Many have accused the authorities of negligence or possible deliberate malpractice, questioning how such a large number of “deaths”, especially among young voters, could be recorded simultaneously without thorough checks.

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When The Federal contacted Madurai District Collector KJ Praveen Kumar, he assured that a detailed inquiry would be conducted immediately. “We will thoroughly investigate the matter and take appropriate action.”