Police decide not to probe alleged form-filling scandal involving stolen DNR data
A police media official has denied this
The home minister is alleged to have been involved in filling up fraudulent forms to increase PNC’s membership count
The Maldives Police Service has decided against investigating the case involving the alleged filling of fraudulent forms using stolen information from the Department of National Registration (DNR).
A reliable source told RaajjeMV that the police institution has decided not to proceed with the investigation into the case of data leakage from DNR's database.
The source revealed that high-level police officials held consultative meetings regarding the matter last week, and they have since decided not to investigate the case.
Referring to the reason for not investigating the case, the source stressed that the police institution had previously investigated two similar cases, and when the cases were sent to the Prosecutor General's Office, they were returned.
Citing this precedent in those two cases, they have decided not to investigate the case of the main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) submitting fraudulent forms using information stolen from DNR.
However, a police media official has denied this. The official said that the case of fraudulent forms submitted is being investigated as a forgery case. The official did not respond to the question about how many such cases have been submitted to the police institution.
Photos showing people filling forms for the ruling party PNC inside DNR have gone viral, drawing criticism towards the incumbent administration. While it has now been confirmed that fraudulent forms were submitted to recruit members for the main ruling party, the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has expressed their concerns to the Elections Commission (EC) regarding the issue.
Several are saying that they have lost trust in the EC after it declared PNC as the largest party and published the registry, despite the submission of invalid forms.
Political leaders of the DNR office had earlier admitted to filling forms at the office to recruit members of the general public for PNC. Political parties and the public continue to call for an investigation into this matter.
MDP lodged a case at MPS and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate the matter of several individuals being registered to PNC through fraudulent forms filled using stolen personal information of the Maldivian people in mid-January. As this crime was committed by illegally obtaining information from the DNR database operated under the supervision of Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusaan, and since this act carried out jointly by PNC and state institutions constitutes criminal offenses, the party had requested the police institution and the corruption watchdog to investigate all criminal offenses involved in the case, including the creation of imitation and forged documents, providing false information to government institutions, giving false testimonies, and abuse of authority for undue advantage.
