Between 2022 and 2025, several incidents surfaced across Bharat where individuals attempted to exploit the anonymity of the burqa to cast fraudulent votes. These cases, widely documented through CCTV footage, election official reports, and viral videos, raised serious concerns about the vulnerability of Bharat’s democratic process, especially during high-stakes elections. The recurring pattern involved identity concealment, removal of indelible ink, impersonation of registered female voters, and coordinated cheating in polling booths located in politically sensitive constituencies.
The most recent and widely discussed instance occurred on November 6, 2025, during the Bihar Assembly elections, where a Muslim woman named Tabassum Khatoon was caught on camera openly admitting that she had removed the indelible ink from her finger after voting, intending to vote again under the cover of a burqa. The video spread across social media platforms, igniting public outrage and renewed calls for stricter voter verification protocols, especially in regions where veiled identity has been repeatedly misused to bypass standard checks.
These incidents have deepened mistrust among the electorate, particularly within Hindu communities, as such orchestrated fraud undermines the legitimacy of the democratic mandate and disproportionately influences electoral outcomes in constituencies with communal demographic imbalance. The pattern suggests not isolated mistakes, but a deliberate, systemic tactic, enabled by the difficulty of verifying identity when the face is entirely covered.
Highlighting these cases is not merely about exposing wrongdoing; it is about defending the integrity of the vote, which forms the foundation of Bharat’s democracy. When elections are compromised, the rights of honest voters are violated, and the integrity of the nation’s governing system is threatened. This report documents 12 such incidents across states to present a clear and evidence-based understanding of the scale and repetition of these practices.
1. Burqa-based fake voting incident sparked political uproar in Siwan, Bihar
During the Bihar Assembly Election on 6 November 2025, a video from Siwan went viral showing a Muslim woman named Tabassum Khatoon openly admitting that she had removed the indelible ink from her finger after voting, so she could vote again by hiding her identity under a burqa. The footage quickly spread across social media, creating widespread shock and raising serious concerns about how identity concealment was being exploited to bypass voting safeguards.
The incident triggered intense political reactions, with several groups accusing election authorities of failing to enforce voter verification procedures. Critics argued that allowing full-face covering at polling booths had created a loophole that enabled deliberate electoral fraud, particularly in densely populated and communally sensitive constituencies.
This case became a powerful example of systematic misuse of religious veiling to distort democratic outcomes, fuelling demands for mandatory face verification at voting stations to protect the integrity of electoral processes.
2. Burqa-clad women allegedly cast fake votes in Seelampur, Delhi
During the Delhi Assembly Election on 5 February 2025 in the Seelampur constituency, reports emerged that women wearing burqas were allegedly brought to cast fake votes, with AAP-linked workers accused of coordinating the process. The situation escalated when several genuine female voters complained that their votes had already been recorded in the system before they arrived at the booth.
The dispute led to physical clashes between workers of BJP, AAP, and Congress, resulting in heavy police intervention to restore order. The confrontation highlighted the challenge polling officials face in verifying a voter’s identity when their face remains fully covered, making impersonation both easier and harder to detect.
This episode strengthened growing public concern that burqa-based identity masking is being systematically exploited to commit electoral fraud, particularly in politically contested urban constituencies.
3. Fake burqa-clad voter caught during Bihar by-elections in Gaya
During the Bihar by-elections on 13 November 2024, polling officials in Gaya detained a Muslim woman who had arrived from West Bengal for the specific purpose of casting a fake vote, disguised under a burqa to avoid recognition. She did not possess valid identification and was not registered on the local voter list, making the attempt a clear case of organised electoral impersonation.
A video of the woman’s confession later went viral online, where she admitted that she had been sent to Gaya with the intention of voting fraudulently, suggesting a planned and coordinated effort rather than an isolated act. The case underscored how inter-state vote manipulation networks are exploiting religious attire as a means to bypass scrutiny.
This incident reignited demands for mandatory face verification and biometric checks at polling booths, reflecting widespread concern that burqa-based identity concealment is being used to undermine free and fair elections.
4. Burqa-clad women justified fake voting as harmless in Purnia, Bihar
During the Lok Sabha Elections on 27 May 2024 in Purnia, Bihar, a video went viral showing a Muslim woman defending the act of burqa-clad minor girls casting fake votes. In the video, she complained that the administration had detained the girls, arguing that they had only voted “out of excitement” and had not committed any “big crime”.
The woman’s statement revealed a concerning normalisation of electoral fraud within certain groups, where illegal voting was being treated as casual, even acceptable. Her justification suggested that voting without verification was considered routine as long as the individual remained hidden under a burqa.
5. Fifteen burqa-clad women arrested for fake voting in Mau, Uttar Pradesh
During the UP Urban Local Body Elections on 23 May 2025 in Mau, Uttar Pradesh, polling personnel detained 15 women wearing burqas who had arrived at the Khirabagh polling booth to cast fraudulent votes. On inspection, authorities discovered fake Aadhaar cards in their possession, confirming a coordinated identity impersonation attempt. Among the accused were two minors as well.
The arrests exposed the use of the burqa as a planned tactical tool to obscure identity and bypass voter authentication systems. The presence of minors suggested systematic indoctrination and organised involvement, rather than spontaneous individual wrongdoing.
This incident demonstrated how electoral fraud is being structured and executed collectively, raising serious questions about network-backed voter impersonation in urban constituencies.
6. Three burqa-clad fake voters and one male accomplice arrested in Madhubani, Bihar
During the Lok Sabha Elections on 22 May 2024 at Booth No. 85, Hakkania Madrasa, located in Jale Assembly constituency (Madhubani district, Bihar), police arrested three women wearing burqas who attempted to cast illegal votes. A man named Mohammad Sanaullah was also detained for assisting them in the impersonation attempt.
The women were found attempting to vote without valid voter registration and were allegedly part of a pre-planned effort to inflate polling numbers through organised booth-level fraud. Their arrest prevented multiple counterfeit ballots from entering the electoral count.
7. Minor girl attempted voting with another woman’s slip in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh
During the 3rd Phase of Lok Sabha Elections on 7 May 2024 in Kundarki Assembly, Sambhal district (Uttar Pradesh), security personnel intercepted a minor girl in a burqa who attempted to cast a vote using the voter slip of a 40-year-old woman. The impersonation attempt was detected during routine identity verification inside the booth.
The BJP later alleged that the presiding officer, Shamim Ahmed, was facilitating fraudulent voting practices, though official investigation into that claim remained ongoing. The event signaled the ease with which identity documents can be substituted when the individual’s face is fully covered.
This case illustrated how electoral malpractice often relies on booth-level collusion and how minors are sometimes drawn into fraud networks, reflecting deeper systemic manipulation.
8. Burqa-clad woman arrested attempting to vote in sister-in-law’s name in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh
On 18 November 2023 in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, police arrested a burqa-wearing Muslim woman who attempted to cast a vote in her sister-in-law’s name. During questioning, she confessed that her father-in-law and mother-in-law had instructed her to impersonate the registered voter and cast the ballot.
The confession indicated that the electoral fraud attempt was family-coordinated, not spontaneous. Such cases reveal how vote manipulation can occur through domestic pressure, often using the burqa to erase visual identity during verification.
9. Four burqa-clad women, including one minor, caught voting fraudulently in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh
In May 2023, during the Sambhal municipal elections in Chandausi, police detained four women wearing burqas who attempted to cast fake votes using forged voter IDs. Upon verification, one of the four was confirmed to be a minor, and none of them had legitimate documentation matching the claimed identities.
The incident showed clear organised planning, including transportation to the polling location, acquisition of forged documents, and use of full facial concealment to bypass checks. The arrest prevented multiple illegal ballots from entering the count.
10. Mother–daughter duo caught casting fake votes under a burqa in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh
During the second phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections on 14 February 2022, polling officials in Rampur apprehended two burqa-clad Muslim women, identified as Rani and Muskan, a mother–daughter pair, who had arrived to cast fake votes at the GRP College polling booth in the City Assembly constituency. One of the two had already succeeded in casting an illegal vote before being caught.
This incident revealed how familial coordination and identity concealment were used to bypass verification checks inside polling stations. Despite mandatory voter ID and ink marking procedures, the burqa enabled impersonation, making it difficult for staff to visually confirm voter identity.
11. Burqa-clad women holding fake IDs during UP elections
In March 2022, during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, a video surfaced on social media showing several young Muslim women in burqas gathered in a room with multiple forged Aadhaar cards. Voices in the video accused them of preparing to cast fraudulent votes using stolen or duplicated voter identities.
The video highlighted the existence of organised vote-rigging cells, where documentation, booth targeting, and identity-exchange were coordinated before reaching polling stations. The fact that the women were masked with burqas made visual identity verification nearly impossible, increasing the risk of unseen impersonation at the booth level.
12. Woman attempted to vote using identity of her deceased co-wife in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh
During the second phase of the Lok Sabha Elections on 21 April 2019, a woman in Hasanpur, Amroha (Uttar Pradesh) was detained after she attempted to cast a vote in the name of her deceased co-wife, while concealing her identity under a burqa. Polling officials became suspicious during voter roll cross-checking and immediately alerted police.
The woman confessed that she attempted the impersonation believing that burqa concealment would prevent identity verification, allowing her to exploit the name of a deceased voter to manipulate turnout numbers. Police registered an FIR and initiated legal action.
This case demonstrated how electoral fraud can also occur through intra-family identity theft, reinforcing the broader pattern that full facial concealment inside polling booths poses a direct threat to authentication and the integrity of elections.
The incidents documented across Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and other regions between 2022 and 2025 reveal a repeating, organized pattern of electoral fraud, particularly where full-face concealment through the burqa has been systematically used to bypass voter identification safeguards. These are not isolated lapses or individual misunderstandings; they form a method of coordinated impersonation, executed in constituencies where demographic compositions can decisively influence electoral outcomes. Every fraudulent vote cast under a false identity is not just an illegal act; it is a direct theft of another citizen’s democratic right.
Yet, the national discourse remains disturbingly selective. While certain political parties, most notably the Congress leadership under Rahul Gandhi, continuously allege ‘vote chori’ (vote theft) in abstract terms, they remain silent on the documented and repeatedly recorded instances of impersonation occurring in stronghold minority pockets of states like Bengal and Bihar. The narrative of ‘democracy in danger’ is invoked loudly only when electoral outcomes do not favor specific political blocs; meanwhile, when the fraud benefits them, the same voices either normalize, dismiss, or outright deny it. This double standard weakens public trust and erodes the principle of equal citizenship.
For Hindu communities, especially in border districts and constituencies with a history of communal tensions, these patterns carry more profound implications. Where the electoral playing field itself becomes manipulated, the political representation of the Hindu population is diluted, not through fair democratic competition, but through identity-based vote manufacturing.
The result is a system where policy, resource allocation, and local governance begin to reflect the interests of those who gained power through illegitimate means, rather than through a genuine mandate. It is no coincidence that in parts of West Bengal and Bihar, where such burqa-clad Islamists’ malpractice has been most visible, we also see rising political intimidation, targeted demographic pressure, and weakening law enforcement neutrality.
Therefore, ensuring transparent and verifiable voter identity is not merely an administrative reform; it is a fundamental necessity for civil society. Democracy survives not on the slogans of leaders, but on the integrity of each vote. A nation of 1.4 billion cannot allow anonymous, unverifiable, and impersonated voting to decide the future of its people. Protecting the ballot is protecting Dharma, sovereignty, and the right of every Bharatiya to choose their destiny without fear, fraud, or demographic manipulation. The call is clear: reforms must be immediate, enforcement uncompromising, and awareness continuous, for Bharat’s democracy is only as strong as the sanctity of the hand that casts the vote.
