Amid opposition protest due to anomalies investigation on Fake vote scam by Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Bihar, the case of Minta Devi, a first-time voter from Siwan district whose age was listed as 124 years in the voters’ list, has drawn attention.
The district administration claimed the discrepancy was a clerical error during the online application process, but Opposition leaders took it as fresh ammunition to question the SIR process.
Minta Devi, a resident of Arjani Pur village under Daraundha Assembly constituency, was recently issued a voter ID card in which her age was given as 124. According to her Aadhaar card, her correct date of birth is July 15, 1990, making her 34 years old.
“I came to know about this only a few days ago,” Minta Devi said. “I received my voter ID card just one or two months ago. I did not check it carefully then. When the issue gained attention, I looked at my voter card and realised the mistake,” she said.
She had applied for the voter ID card online from a cyber café after several failed attempts to register through the local Booth Level Officers (BLOs), she said, adding, “I gave the correct details based on my Aadhaar card. This error must have happened while typing or later.”
In an official communication dated August 11, addressed to the District Election Officer, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of Daraundha Assembly constituency confirmed the error. “During the verification process, Minta Devi’s Aadhaar card was reviewed and her correct date of birth was found to be July 15, 1990,” the letter said.
The District Public Relations Office of Siwan on Tuesday said, “Following the publication of the draft electoral roll on August 1, 2025, the BLO identified the error in age and contacted Minta Devi. She has since submitted Form-8 on August 10, 2025, with the reference ID S04109G8C1008251200004, and the correction will be processed as per guidelines.”
The Opposition INDIA bloc has seized upon the Minta Devi incident as evidence of alleged irregularities in the process. On Tuesday, INDIA bloc MPs staged a protest in the Parliament complex wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan — “Minta Devi 124 Not Out.”
Meanwhile, two other similar cases involving two entries in the draft roll of the SIR where the voters were shown to be over the age of 119 have been verified as accurate, officials claimed.
