Goa woman booked for allegedly hiding Portuguese citizenship to enrol as voter

Goa Police have registered a criminal case against a woman from Vasco for allegedly concealing her Portuguese nationality and attempting to get her name included in the electoral rolls of the Vasco Assembly constituency.

The accused, Elizabeth Luis , a resident of Bhute Bhat in Vasco, is suspected of suppressing the fact that she had acquired Portuguese citizenship and holds a Portuguese passport while applying for voter registration. Officials said the alleged violation came to light during the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls , an exercise carried out to verify and update voter lists.

According to police, Luis submitted an enumeration form through a Booth Level Officer (BLO) attached to the Mormugao Municipal Council. The application was then forwarded to the Mamlatdar of Mormugao , a senior revenue and administrative officer responsible for overseeing local governance functions such as land records, certificates, and certain election-related duties at the taluka (sub-district) level. In this case, the Mamlatdar also serves as the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) for the Vasco Assembly constituency, a role that involves processing and verifying voter registration applications. Authorities allege that by failing to disclose her foreign citizenship status, Luis attempted to get her name included in the voters’ list by providing misleading information.

Based on a complaint filed by the Executive Magistrate and Mamlatdar of Mormugao, the Vasco police station registered an offence alleging forgery and cheating related to fraudulent voter enrolment.

Officials said investigators are now verifying several aspects related to the accused, including how long she has been residing in India, her professional background, and whether she has been involved in any previous civic or criminal cases . Authorities are also checking if she holds or previously held an Indian passport, voter ID card, Aadhaar or other government-issued identity documents .

Under Indian law, only citizens of India who are 18 years or older and ordinarily reside in a constituency are eligible to be registered as voters . Individuals who voluntarily acquire foreign citizenship lose their Indian citizenship and are therefore not permitted to vote in Indian elections.

The case has drawn attention to ongoing efforts by election authorities in Goa to ensure the accuracy of electoral rolls.