Punjab Rajya Sabha elections rocked by forgery scandal: MLAs claim signatures fake

Chandigarh (The Uttam Hindu): Navneet Chaturvedi, who filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections from Punjab and claims to be the "National President of the Janata Party," has been accused of committing a major fraud. He is accused of forging the seals and signatures of ten Punjab MLAs and posing as his "proposer."

After this fraud went viral on social media, the affected MLAs filed a complaint, following which criminal cases were registered against Navneet Chaturvedi in several police stations of the state.

MLAs wrote a letter to DGP and Assembly Secretary

Several MLAs including Amritsar MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh wrote a letter to Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav and Assembly Secretary Ram Lok Khatna clarifying that they did not authorise Navneet Chaturvedi as a proposer. The letter said that the nomination was filed by making fake seals and forging their signatures. The MLAs whose names were fraudulently put as proposers include Rajneesh Dahiya, Naresh Kataria, Sukhbir Singh Maisarkhana, Ranbir Bhullar, Gurlal Singh Ghanaur, Amolak Singh, Manjit Singh Bilaspur, Kulwant Singh Pandori, Gurpreet Singh Bannawali and Kulwant Singh Bajigar.

Twice-filed nomination papers

According to police investigations, Jaipur resident Navneet Chaturvedi filed two nominations for the Rajya Sabha elections. The first nomination was filed on October 6, 2025, and the second on October 13, 2025. He claimed that 69 MLAs from Punjab supported him. However, the MLAs have dismissed this claim as completely false.

According to the complainants, a handwritten list of proposers was attached to the nomination papers, containing forged signatures, and this was also circulated on social media.

Police launch detailed investigation

A Punjab Police spokesperson said that immediate legal action was taken after receiving complaints from the Assembly members. An FIR has been registered against Navneet Chaturvedi and unknown associates. “The investigation is ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the conspiracy, identify other individuals involved, and gather forensic and digital evidence,” officials said.