Investigation by local news channel Herald TV, conducted with Congress’ Santa Cruz block president John Nazareth and joint secretary Edwin Vaz, has further exposed 26 non-Goan names on the voter list at House No. 404/7, owned by Shalan Hatange.

Of these, 15 reportedly voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

As part of the ‘Vote Chori’ (vote theft) campaign, the Congress team visited Bamonbhat in Santa Cruz, gathering video evidence to back their claims.

Perhaps the most striking case emerged in Part 23, Bamonbhat, where a 32-square-metre house (paying just Rs 30 in annual house tax) is officially the address of 28 registered voters with seven different surnames.

The genuine residents said they were unaware of these phantom entries until Congress workers uncovered the anomaly. At least 15 of the fake voters are believed to have cast their ballot in the 2022 Assembly polls.

Local Congress leaders say these discoveries reveal serious flaws in voter registration procedures, particularly in constituencies with high migrant populations, where duplicate or fictitious entries are easier to slip through. They allege that forged documents and fabricated addresses are being used to swell voter rolls, tilting electoral outcomes.