Karnataka voter deletion: What 3 FIRs filed in Mysuru, Bidar, Belagavi say

Attached to the memorandum Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar submitted to the state’s chief electoral officer were three FIRs over bulk submission of Form 7 for voter deletion. Two of the three were filed Thursday, and the third a day earlier.

Shivakumar demanded an immediate criminal case and a time-bound investigation into alleged attempts to delete eligible voters from electoral rolls through bulk Form 7 submissions.

Shivakumar, accompanied by several Cabinet colleagues, submitted a memorandum to the Chief Electoral Officer in Bengaluru and staged a protest outside the office. He alleged that large numbers of Form 7 applications were filed and later withdrawn in constituencies including Ballari, Vijayapura, Belagavi, Mysuru and Bidar, and claimed that pre-printed forms containing voter details were being distributed.

The chief minister said the Election Commission has sought reports from deputy commissioners, while multiple FIRs have already been registered, according to Shivakumar.

Meanwhile, EC said it would initiate legal proceedings against those responsible for the bulk filing of Form 7 applications seeking deletion of voters during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka.

Form 7 is used for making an “objection for proposed inclusion/deletion of name in existing roll”. Electors can file Form 7 if they want to delete their own name or object to any other elector in their constituency.

Mysuru Form 7 complaint

Syed Hasrath Ulla, three-time corporator of the Mysore City Corporation, is the complainant in an FIR registered at Narasimharaja police station on October 1. Ulla has accused Harish Kumar, Raghavendra M, and Anil Thomas of conspiring to delete his name along with his family members and those of the Muslim community.

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“My voting right has been in the same constituency for the past 39 years,” he said in the complaint, noting that he had submitted the relevant forms during the enumeration phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.

The Booth Level Officer (BLO) informed him that Harish Kumar had filed false information using Form 7, claiming he did not reside at the address and should be removed from the roll.

Along with Ulla, Kumar allegedly filed Form 7 against 28 other voters. Similarly, Raghavendra filed Form 7 against 27 people, and Anil Thomas, president of the local BJP Minority Morcha, filed forms against 36 voters, according to the complaint.

Based on this, the police registered an FIR under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections related to cheating, forgery for the purpose of cheating, forgery to harm reputation, statements made to public mischief, and others.

Bidar, Belagavi complaints

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The second FIR was filed at Bhalki Town Police Station in Bidar Thursday, based on a complaint filed by Mohammed Ateeq Ahmed. The FIR named 32 individuals as accused. Ahmed said he had voted in all elections since 2004 and was a nominated member of the Bhalki Town Municipal Council.

He alleged that between September 21 and 23, Form 7s were submitted to delete the names of 3,244 voters, claiming they had shifted or were absent during SIR.

“When I approached the electoral registration officer (ERO) of Bhalki constituency, he said that on September 25, 3,244 Form 7s were received and he had issued a notice to those who filed the forms to submit the relevant documents. However, they did not respond to the notice,” Ahmed said in the FIR.

The third case was filed at Market Police Station, Belagavi city, on September 30. Meerasab Abdul Sanadi, Booth Level Agent (BLA) of Ward-12 of Belgaum Uttar constituency, filed the complaint.

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The three accused named in the case are Dr Ravi Patil, who unsuccessfully contested the 2023 polls on a BJP ticket, Shankar Birappa Naik, and Prashanth Deepak.

Sanadi alleged that the three, along with 20-25 others, conspired to delete the names of 198 voters by submitting forged documents. They pressured the Booth Level Agents to accept the forms by claiming they were sent by the ERO, he claimed.

“They made someone impersonate the ERO over a call to force BLOs,” the complaint said, claiming that there could be a conspiracy to stir tensions by infuriating the minority community.