Representative image

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police , acting on the directions of the Election Commission, registered an FIR on Tuesday into the alleged claims by self-styled “cyber expert” Syed Shuja in London on Monday that electronic voting machines (EVMs) were rigged in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls to manipulate results.

While the FIR was lodged against unknown persons under Section 505 of the Indian Penal Code (statement conducing to public mischief), sources indicated that the probe, apart from examining Shuja’s antecedents and motive, will cover all angles including any political backing to his actions.

Congress leader Kapil Sibal ’s presence at the press conference relayed via Skype saw BJP accuse the rival of a conspiracy to “defame India and its electoral process”.

While Congress said Sibal was present in a personal capacity, the event’s organiser, Ashish Ray of Indian Journalists Association (Europe), on Tuesday said, “Since invitations were sent to concerned party presidents, I surmised Mr Sibal had been sent as an observer to the press conference.” Ray also seemed defensive about Shuja’s claims, saying, “Admittedly, accusations made were very serious, which he could not substantiate. He left a roomful of scribes highly sceptical, if not annoyed.”

According to the EC, Shuja’s claims that he was part of the EVM design team (at ECIL) and that he could hack EVMs used in Indian elections were “violative of IPC, particularly its Section 505 (1)(b)”.

EVM manufacturer ECIL in a letter to the EC on Tuesday denied Shuja was an employee between 2009-2014. “The records of this company have been verified and it is found that Syed Shuja has neither been on the rolls of ECIL as a regular employee nor was he in any way associated in the design and development of EVMs in ECIL produced between 2009 and 2014,” wrote ECIL CMD, Rear Admiral Sanjay Chaubey (retd).

TOI had on Monday reported that EC would register a criminal case under Section 505 of IPC and that enquiries by EC with ECIL had ruled out Shuja being its regular employee or on the EVM design team.

As regards Sibal’s claims that Shuja was associated with WIN Solutions, an outsourcing partner of ECIL, a senior EC functionary told TOI that ECIL’s clarification that he was not associated with EVM design belies his claims of being on the EVM design team.

Sources said while the FIR registered in the case only invokes Section 505, other IPC sections may be added as the investigation progresses and new facts come to light. EC in its letter to Delhi Police noted it had organised an open challenge on June 3, 2017, asking political parties to demonstrate that EVMs could be tampered, but “no party turned up”.

Meanwhile, EC in a press release said its technical experts committee had reconfirmed that EVM was a standalone machine with no external connectivity either through wifi or any radio frequency. TEC rubbished Shuja’s allegation regarding erasing of front side print on VVPAT slips. It clarified that VVPATs used thermal printers which can only print on one side, and that this print is clearly visible through the viewing window and lasts for five years.

