The Mumbai Police have registered an FIR against unidentified persons on charges of cheating and forgery after recovering more than 4,500 affidavits being prepared in support of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction, an official said on Sunday.
Former Thane mayor Naresh Mhaske, who is the spokesperson of the other Sena faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, in a video message claimed the Mumbai Police have found 4,682 "fake" affidavits and registered a criminal case against unidentified persons based on a complaint.
He thanked the police and criticised the Thackeray-led faction over the alleged malpractice for the submission of affidavits before the Election Commission, in the wake of a dispute with the Shinde faction over the party's poll symbol.
"It is my allegation that these false and fake affidavits of Shiv Sainiks had been prepared for filing before the Election Commission," he said.
Mhaske claimed all this was happening under the guidance of "Matoshree”.
'Matoshree' is the private residence of former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Bandra.
According to a police official, the case was registered at Nirmal Nagar police station here on Saturday under Indian Penal Code Sections 420 (cheating) and 465 (forgery) after they recovered the affidavits from a notary wherein important details like Aadhaar cards of the Shiv Sena supporters were attached.
The FIR stated that the complainant had gone to a Bandra court and found two persons with heaps of affidavits with them affixing the notary seal and stamp on it.
The police seized all the affidavits and registered the offence against unidentified persons, it said.
According to an official from the Nirmal Nagar police station, a person getting an affidavit prepared needs to remain physically present before the notary. In this case, the people in whose names the affidavits were being prepared were not present there, he said.
The police will call those people and verify whether they had got the affidavits prepared in support of the Thackeray faction, and if they had any idea about the affidavits prepared in their names, he said.
The police will also verify whether these supporters had nominated someone to prepare and notarise these affidavits on their behalf, he said, adding that a probe is on into the case.
Meanwhile, Mhaske demanded that an enquiry be conducted into the affidavits submitted so far by the Thackeray-led faction to the Election Commission.
(With PTI inputs)
