VoIP calls, cyber centre, Rs 80 charge: Inside Karnataka’s Aland constituency vote deletion row; requests to remove 6,994 votes | Bengaluru News
BENGALURU: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged voter deletion scam in Aland constituency in Kalaburagi district during the 2023 assembly polls has reportedly uncovered evidence of attempts to delete names from the voters’ list, and identified six suspects. Investigators said that the deletions were carried out at a local cyber centre in Aland, where operators were allegedly paid Rs 80 per application.“We suspect the accused paid around Rs 4.8 lakh to those who facilitated the deletions,” SIT sources said.CID officials said: “There were requests to delete 6,994 votes and at least 6,000 votes have been deleted.”
Probe indicates deletions made using voice calls on internet
Officials are now probing how the centre gained access to the Election Commission’s portal to file fake voter deletion requests.According to CID sources, preliminary findings show that the deletions took place between Dec 2022 and Feb 2023 using voice over internet protocol (VoIP).“There were requests to delete 6,994 votes and at least 6,000 votes have been allegedly deleted. While a few were genuine, most were bogus. The applications allegedly targeted Dalit and minority voters. The deletions were halted after the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) ordered a status quo,” CID officials said.The irregularities have been traced to local resident Mohammed Ashfaq, who was questioned in Feb 2023 and let off. He is currently in Dubai and a blue corner notice is being processed to locate him.Aland, part of Kalaburagi district, is represented by Congress MLA BR Patil. He along with Kalaburagi district minister Priyank Kharge were the first to flag the irregularities to the CEO. The Congress govt later formed the SIT, headed by Additional Director General of Police B K Singh, after Rahul Gandhi raised allegations of vote theft in Aland— the home turf of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.Reacting to the reports, Priyank Kharge posted on X, “Voters deleted for just Rs 80 in Aland. The latest findings from the Karnataka SIT confirm what we’ve been saying all along, over 6,000 genuine voters were struck off the rolls through a paid operation ahead of the 2023 elections in Aland. A full-fledged data centre was operating out of Kalaburagi, where operators were systematically deleting voters’ names and tampering with our democratic process. All investigations now point to foul play by BJP functionaries and their associates. Every dirty trick and modus operandi from the BJP’s #VoteChori playbook will be exposed, and every single person responsible will be held accountable and put behind bars.”On Oct 17, SIT searched the residences of former BJP MLA Subhash Guttedar, his sons, and their chartered accountant Mallikarjun Mahantagol, seizing seven laptops and several mobile phones.Following the revelations, Congress accused the BJP of vote theft, calling it a direct assault on democracy.
