Voter list row: Relief for Suresh Gopi after Kerala Police decline to register case

Kerala Police declined to register a case against Union Minister Suresh Gopi over voter list forgery allegations, citing lack of evidence, but said the matter could be reopened if new documents emerge.

Thrissur: The Kerala Police have decided not to register a case against Union Minister Suresh Gopi over allegations of voter list manipulation raised by Congress leader and former Thrissur MP TN Prathapan.

Actor-politician Gopi won from the Thrissur constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, giving the BJP its first seat in the Lower House of Parliament from Kerala.

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He secured victory by a margin of over 70,000 votes, and since then, allegations have surfaced of widespread manipulation in the voter list.

Prathapan, who represented Thrissur in Parliament from 2019 to 2024, chose not to contest in 2024. The Congress instead fielded K Muraleedharan, then sitting MP from Badagara.

Gopi, who had finished third in the 2019 polls, pulled off a stellar win this time, pushing the Congress candidate to third place while senior CPI leader and former State Agriculture Minister VS Sunil Kumar finished second.

Following Gopi’s victory, Prathapan lodged a complaint alleging that Gopi and his brother forged documents to illegally register their votes in Thrissur. He accused the Union Minister of deliberately submitting fabricated records to gain an electoral advantage.

However, after a preliminary probe, the police concluded there was insufficient evidence to support the charges. Officials said the complainant failed to provide supporting documents to prove the alleged forgery. Based on this, the police informed Prathapan that a case could not be filed at this stage.

City Police Commissioner said the decision was based on the interim inquiry report, which found no material evidence to proceed.

“The absence of credible documents prevents us from moving ahead with a case,” the Commissioner noted.

At the same time, police did not rule out reopening the matter. They stated that if additional documents are received from the District Administration or the Election Commission, the issue will be re-examined.

“Any further evidence provided by competent authorities will be duly considered, and the case can be revisited if necessary,” the statement added.