SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Bengaluru: The controversy surrounding the alleged misuse of Form 7 applications during Karnataka’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has escalated, with police registering five first information reports (FIRs) in different parts of the state over attempts to delete names of minority voters.
The complaints have raised questions about whether bulk applications were submitted using incorrect details, forged signatures or without the consent of the persons named in the forms.
The cases have been registered in Belagavi, Bidar and Mysuru. Complaints alleged that large numbers of voters were shown as having shifted from their addresses or being unavailable, even though they continued to reside at the same locations. Police have invoked provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) dealing with cheating, forgery, impersonation and conspiracy.
The development comes amid allegations that Form 7 was being used to target Muslim voters in large numbers. Form 7 is the official mechanism through which an objection can be raised against the inclusion of a person’s name in the electoral roll or seeking deletion of an existing voter.
Karnataka CEO denies misuse of Form 7
Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V Anbu Kumar, however, has maintained that the filing of Form 7 applications has not automatically resulted in the deletion of any voter. According to Kumar, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has received approximately 84,900 such applications during the SIR exercise, but no voter has been removed merely because an application was submitted.
He said election officials had been directed to act against people who deliberately furnished false information while filing electoral forms. Action can be taken under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act after an inquiry is conducted in accordance with Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, he added.
BJP leader booked in Belagavi
One prominent case has emerged from Belagavi, where the officials of the Market police station registered an FIR on September 30 following a complaint by Meersab Sanadi, a Booth Level Agent (BLA) in the Belagavi North Assembly constituency. Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Patil and others have been named in the case.
BLA Sanadi alleged that Form 7 applications were submitted seeking deletion of at least 198 voters. He reportedly came across his own name on the list, along with those of his brother, relatives and neighbours. The applications were found at Veerabhadra Urdu Model School in Belagavi.
According to the complaint, two men approached Booth Level Officers (BLOs) with a batch of applications and claimed to be associated with the Belagavi City Corporation. The forms allegedly already contained voters’ details, while information about the persons objecting to their names was incomplete or handwritten.
Some BLOs reportedly refused to endorse the applications after recognising several of the voters as residents of the area. The men then allegedly called a person who claimed to be Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) Udayakumar Basavantappa Talawar and instructed the officials to proceed. Talawar later denied giving such directions and said his name had been misused.
In Bidar and Mysuru
A separate complaint in Bidar resulted in an FIR on October 1 naming 32 people. The complainant alleged that applications had been filed against 3,244 voters, including himself, by falsely stating that they had shifted or were absent. The complaint also raised allegations of forged signatures and failure to provide authenticated supporting documents.
In Mysuru, social worker Syed Hasarath Ulla approached the police after discovering that Form 7 applications had allegedly been filed against him and his family. The applications reportedly claimed they were no longer residing at their registered address.
Ulla denied the claim and said his family had been residing there for years. He also alleged that 28 other voters faced similar objections.
The Mysuru case was registered at Narasimharaja police station against Harish Kumar C, Raghavendra M, Anil Thomas and others.
None of the five FIRs directly invoke the Representation of the People Act. Instead, the police have registered the cases under criminal law provisions relating to alleged forgery, cheating and conspiracy. The legal sustainability of the cases could be examined by courts at a later stage.
SOURCE : SIASAT
