SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Bengaluru: Karnataka’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has revealed a series of unusual entries, including 37 applications where voters reportedly sought deletion of their own names by claiming they were dead.
Another 334 cases involved pairs of voters who submitted forms declaring each other deceased, according to an analysis of Election Commission records published by The Hindu.
Most of the applications in which voters cited their own death as the reason for removal were filed before SIR officially commenced in Karnataka (on June 30). Some were submitted even before the final draft rolls.
The cases involving mutual death declarations were identified in more than 25 districts. Belagavi accounted for the largest share, with 160 cases, while Kalaburagi recorded 80. The findings have raised questions about the accuracy of voter records and the verification of applications submitted for deleting names.
In the Magadi, Sandur and Byatarayanapura Assembly constituencies, Form 7 applications were filed between September 17 and 26.
The ‘dead’ voters of Karnataka
In Byatarayanapura, 25-year-old Sudha KN appeared in the records both as the applicant seeking deletion and as the person whose name was to be removed on the ground of death. Booth-level officers said the application was submitted by Sudha, seeking the removal of her husband Srikanth’s name. However, the electoral roll listed Srikanth’s name under Sudha, leaving officials unable to clarify the discrepancy.
In Sandur, 30-year-old Hanumanth filed an application seeking deletion of his own name, citing death. Senior electoral officials suspected that a software error might have caused the entry. The booth-level officer concerned said he was unaware that the Form 7 application had been submitted.
A separate discrepancy was noticed in Magadi, where Manish Gowda R filed a deletion request. His serial number was recorded as 416, even though the draft electoral roll for the polling station concerned contained only 415 voters.
Cases of voters declaring one another dead were also reported from Belagavi district. In Raybag, Gangubai Vaddar sought the removal of Rukmini Vaddar’s name on May 17, citing her death. On the same date, Rukmini filed an application declaring Gangubai dead.
In Nippani, Prabhakar Ranga Malage sought deletion of Malan Malage’s name on June 8, claiming that Malan had died. The following day, Malan submitted a request seeking the deletion of Prabhakar’s name on the same grounds.
Software error or?
Officials are examining whether the discrepancies resulted from software-related problems, errors during voter enumeration or mistakes in earlier electoral records. The cases highlight the importance of verifying death-related claims and checking supporting information before removing names from the voters’ list.
The statewide SIR process began on June 30, following its official announcement on May 14. The anomalies identified in the records have brought renewed attention to the need for accurate data entry and scrutiny of applications seeking changes to electoral rolls.
SOURCE : SIASAT
