Police summons suspended IAS officers accused of voter data theft by pvt firm
Bengaluru, Dec 7: Two Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officers, suspended in connection with the alleged voter data theft by a private firm, have been summoned, a police officer said on Wednesday.
According to the officer, K Srinivas and S Rangappa were asked to depose before the investigating officer today.
However, they have sought a week's time to appear for questioning, he added.
Srinivas was the deputy commissioner of Bengaluru Urban District, and Rangappa was the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, who also served as the Additional District Election Officer, when the alleged electoral data theft took place.
They were suspended on November 26 as they were in-charge of those constituencies which allegedly saw large-scale election data fraud.
The Election Commission had ordered reviewing the addition and deletion in the electoral roll in Shivaji Nagar, Chickpet and Mahadevapura Assembly segments.
The investigation would also cover Chilume Educational Cultural and Rural Development Institute (Chilume), which is at the centre of controversy.
"We will probe whether it is a trust or a firm," the police officer said.
The Chilume Trust had allegedly got permission from the BBMP for voter awareness drive free of cost'.
The Congress has charged the Trust with appointing a large number of Block-level Officers (BLOs), which usually should be done by the government, and issuing identity cards to them.
The BLOs then conducted a door-to-door survey of voters using their BLO identity card, the party had alleged.
Congress further said the Trust 'sub-leased' its job to some other agencies as well.
After the matter came to light, the BBMP terminated the permission granted to Chilume Trust. The Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka, too, intervened and an FIR was registered in this connection. Based on the FIR, the investigations are underway.
Based on the FIR, police arrested many people including the trust director Krishnappa Ravikumar.
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Young woman from MP who shot to fame during Kumbh found to be minor, case registered against husband
Khargone (MP) (PTI): The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes on Friday confirmed that a young woman from Madhya Pradesh who became famous due to her viral videos during the 2025 Maha Kumbh has been found to be a minor after an inquiry.
Citing the findings of an inquiry panel set up by the commission, local BJP leaders alleged that her interfaith marriage in Kerala last month was a case of "love Jihad", and sought legal action.
While the panel had submitted its report in March, ST commission chairman Antar Singh Arya confirmed its findings to the PTI on Friday.
A case for alleged kidnapping and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has already been registered against her husband, a Muslim man, at Maheshwar on the basis of the inquiry findings, police said.
The girl gained national fame after her videos while selling garlands and rudraksha at the Maha Kumbh went viral on social media and also earned her a role in a film.
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes set up an inquiry panel after receiving a complaint on March 17 from Pratham Dubey, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, that she was a minor and was being exploited.
Maheshwar BJP MLA Rajkumar Mev and BJP mandal president Vikram Patel, armed with documents, told reporters on Friday that her marriage in Kerala was a case of "love Jihad" and she should be brought back home.
'Love jihad' is a term used by right-wing groups to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into marriage to convert them to Islam.
Police said an investigation is underway, and further action would be taken accordingly.
The girl, who belongs to the nomadic Pardhi community, got married at a temple in Kerala in March. The interfaith marriage drew angry reactions from rightwing Hindu groups.
Her family members and film director Sanoj Mishra -- who had offered her a film role after she became famous -- too alleged that it was 'love Jihad'.
As per the inquiry conducted by the ST commission, records at the Maheshwar government hospital showed the woman's date of birth as December 30, 2009 which meant she was 16 years and two months old at the time of marriage, said Dubey, the complainant.
On a complaint filed by her father, police registered a case against the girl's husband at Maheshwar police station on March 25 for alleged kidnapping and under the POCSO Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Police sources said that a separate case was also registered on March 24 under section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (taking a minor from lawful custody of guardian without their consent) based on the the commission's findings.
