Voter data manipulation likely beyond Aland, SIT probe reveals; BJP leaders under scanner
Bengaluru: The bid to fraudulently delete names from voters’ lists ahead of the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections may not have been confined to the Aland constituency. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the State police probing the case has reportedly found that a data centre allegedly used to make illegal online applications for deletion of voters’ names may have also been used to “manipulate” electoral rolls in at least two other seats in Kalaburagi district.
According to officials familiar with the investigation, several BJP leaders from the Kalaburagi region are suspected of having approached the data centre to make online applications for voter deletions. “An agreement was signed for changes to voter lists on behalf of a candidate from another constituency in the Kalaburagi region with the data centre,” The Indian Express quoted its source as saying.
Preliminary findings indicate that in one constituency in Gulbarga city, as many as 35,000 names, primarily belonging to minority communities were targeted. Funds for the operation were allegedly routed through an accountant in Kalaburagi, whose laptop has been seized by the SIT.
According to reports, staff at the Kalaburagi data centre were paid Rs 80 per online application. The centre was being operated by a local resident, Mohammed Ashfaq, and his associate, Md Akram. Both were questioned last year; Ashfaq later moved to Dubai. Three data entry operators linked to the operation have also been interrogated.
While SIT officials claim they have gathered key evidence to prosecute those involved in the Aland case, their current mandate does not extend to investigating similar manipulation in other constituencies.
The voter deletion controversy in Aland gained national attention after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi cited it as an example of “vote chori.” Congress minister Priyank Kharge said the investigation has confirmed their allegations. “All evidence now points to foul play by BJP leaders and their associates. Every person involved in this ‘vote theft’ will face legal action,” Kharge said.
BJP leader Chandrakanth Patil, who lost narrowly from Gulbarga North in 2023, denied the allegations. He said local BJP corporators may have worked with the data centre for “legitimate voter list revisions” but denied any wrongdoing by candidates. “It was done legally, for additions or deletions in case of duplication,” Patil said, while alleging that Congress leaders were themselves involved in manipulating minority votes
As part of its probe into the alleged voter list manipulation in Aland, the SIT earlier this year searched properties linked to BJP leader Subhash Guttedar, who lost from Aland in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, as well as those of his sons, Harshanand and Santosh Guttedar, and a chartered accountant associated with them.
“They alleged we burnt documents (ahead of the raids). Everybody cleans their house for Deepavali, and the same was done at mine. It is trash that was burnt,” Guttedar said after the raids.
The alleged fraudulent deletions came to light in early 2023 when Congress candidate B. R. Patil noticed irregularities during the Election Commission’s voter list revision. He claimed that over 6,600 names were targeted for deletion across Aland’s 254 booths, mainly from Congress strongholds.
A subsequent police complaint filed by the Aland Returning Officer confirmed that over 6,000 names had been flagged for deletion through remote applications made without voter consent. Only 24 were found valid after verification.
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NCB busts secret drug lab in Karnataka's Mysuru; four held
New Delhi (PTI): The Narcotics Control Bureau has busted a secret drug manufacturing laboratory in Karnataka's Mysuru and arrested four people from Rajasthan after seizing narcotics worth Rs 10 crore, the agency said on Friday.
This crackdown began on January 28 in Gujarat's Surat, where federal officials intercepted a SUV in the Palsana area. The vehicle was found carrying about 35 kg of Mephedrone.
Followingthe seizure, the Narcotcis Control Bureau (NCB) arrested the alleged mastermind of this trafficking racket named Mahindra Kumar Vishnoi and three others. All four suspects are residents of Rajasthan's Jalore district.
The investigation led to officials to a "clandestine" drugs manufacturing laboratory located in Hebbal industrial area of Mysuru.
The laboratory was being operated under the guise of a chemical manufacturing unit for cleaning purposes. The facility had been rented by a co-accused and relative of Vishnoi, the NCB said in a statement.
"Drugs worth Rs 10 crore (market value), Rs 25.6 lakh in cash, an SUV and 500 kgs of chemicals used in the manufacturing of drugs have been seized during the operation," it said, adding that the lab is understood to be established in 2024.
According to the NCB, Vishnoi is a "habitual offender" who "conceived" the idea of manufacturing synthetic drugs in secret labs while he was incarcerated in a drugs trafficking case. He has three drug-related cases registered against him in Rajasthan and one in Gujarat, the NCB added.
