Karnataka SIR: FIRs Over Alleged Voter Deletion Attempts

• FIR filed against Ravi Patil and others in Belagavi.
• Complaint alleges attempted deletion of 198 voter names.
• Bidar case involves allegations concerning 3,244 voters.
• Mysuru police also registered a case over Form-7 applications.

GG News Bureau
Bengaluru, 2nd Oct: Police have registered cases in Karnataka over alleged irregularities involving Form-7 applications during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, including an FIR against BJP leader Ravi Patil and others in Belagavi over an alleged attempt to seek deletion of 198 voters’ names. The allegations are under investigation and do not establish that the accused committed the offences.

The Belagavi Market police registered the FIR on September 30 following a complaint by Meerasab Abdul Sanadi, who was working as a Booth Level Agent in Ward 12 of the Belagavi North Assembly constituency. The complaint names Patil, Shankar Beerappa Naik and Prashanth Deepak Mundinmani, along with around 20–25 others.

According to the complaint, the incident occurred on September 22 during verification of electoral-roll information. Sanadi alleged that Form-7 applications containing forged documents and false information were brought for seeking deletion of 198 voters’ names. The complaint alleges that the applications primarily concerned voters from the Muslim community.

The complaint further alleges that the accused attempted to exert pressure on booth-level personnel and that a person purportedly claiming to be the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) was contacted by phone. Police have registered the case under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, common intention and unlawful assembly, among other offences. Investigation is underway.

Importantly, the FIR concerns an alleged attempt to submit applications seeking deletion; it does not by itself establish that the 198 voters were removed from the electoral roll. Any deletion is subject to the prescribed verification and electoral-roll procedure.

A separate case has been registered in Bidar district after Bhalki resident Mohammed Ateeq Ahmed alleged that 3,244 voters, including himself, were shown as “shifted/absent” through Form-7 applications during the SIR exercise.

According to the complaint, the applications were allegedly submitted without authenticated documents from the affected voters and contained forged signatures. An FIR naming 32 accused persons was registered on October 1. The allegations are also subject to investigation.

In Mysuru, social worker Syed Hasarath Ulla alleged that Form-7 applications were submitted claiming that he and his family members were not residing at their registered address, despite their continued residence there. He also alleged that similar applications were submitted against 28 other voters.

Following the complaint, a case was registered at Narasimharaja police station against Harish Kumar C, Raghavendra M, Anil Thomas and others over allegations of attempting to have voter names deleted during the SIR process.

The cases have emerged amid a broader political dispute in Karnataka over the SIR exercise. Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, along with Cabinet colleagues and MLAs, staged a sit-in outside the office of Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar on Thursday, demanding action over alleged electoral irregularities.