The ECI did act on Sambhal complaints, relying on reports from District Magistrate Manish Bansal. While former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa was targeted with Pegasus spyware after dissenting in 2019, unconfirmed allegations of family ties between officials do not prove professional misconduct.

Nobody reliable has confirmed this. Reel by @scroll_in · checked 10 Oct 2026 · Politics

The Reel says

ECI's handling of Sambhal voter suppression reflects institutional conflicts

✅ The 2019 dissent TrueAshok Lavasa dissented and faced Pegasus surveillance
🔀 “Institutional conflicts” Doesn't followBias allegations are not supported by the evidence

▶

The Reel we checked

@scroll_in

During 2024 Lok Sabha polls, ECI did not act on several complaints of voter suppression in #Sambhal, based on reports by the returning officer. It was later…

Watch the Reel on Instagram ↗

🚩 What's concerning

Lapse

Former Union minister RK Singh alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner ordered an illegal countrywide revision of electoral rolls and deleted voter names before verification, violating a 1995 Supreme Court ruling.

"persons whose names were removed having to apply as a new elector and give evidence of their eligibility was a violation of a 1995 Supreme Court judgement." Scroll, 2026-09-29

"Singh said that the order to conduct the SIR across the country was illegal as section 21 of the 1950 Representation of the People Act says that the exercise can be undertaken only in specific cases" Scroll, 2026-09-29

The trick: Guilty by link

It tars someone with the views or acts of people linked to them (known as guilt by association).

"Sambhal's, uh, returning officer was Gyanesh Kumar's son-in-law."

A familial relationship alone does not automatically prove professional misconduct or institutional bias in official duties.

How this trick works and how to answer it →

What we checked

✓

Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa dissented on a decision regarding the Prime Minister in 2019 and was later put under surveillance using Pegasus spyware.Mint + 1 more

Sambhal's returning officer during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls was Gyanesh Kumar's son-in-law.No reliable source found for this yet.

The Election Commission of India did not act on complaints of voter suppression in Sambhal during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.No reliable source found for this yet.

What the Reel doesn't tell you

The Sambhal District Magistrate investigated the viral video and reported that police only cleared an excessive crowd inside the booth to resume orderly voting.

What each side says

Election Commission of India (ECI)The ECI dismissed complaints and videos of voter suppression in Sambhal as false and misleading based on the district magistrate's report. Scroll

How it tries to persuade you

It wants you to think: "The election process in Sambhal was rigged because of a family relationship."

A familial relationship between officials does not automatically prove professional misconduct, institutional bias, or that the election process was compromised.

Insinuation by question: "Will vote chori be done even if Gyanesh is done?". It uses a rhetorical question to plant the idea that systemic, unresolvable election manipulation is occurring, without providing evidence of actual vote theft.

Does this look wrong?

Check a Reel yourself

Send any Reel to @checkthis.chat on Instagram. You get a reply like this in a minute or two.

Send a Reel