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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Iran reimposes restrictions on Strait of Hormuz, accusing US of violating deal to reopen it
Cairo (AP): Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway on Saturday after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iran-linked shipping.
Iran's joint military command said on Saturday that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces.” It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.
The announcement came the morning after US President Donald Trump said that even after Iran announced the strait's reopening on Friday, the American blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear programme.
The conflict over the chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy after oil prices began to fall again on Friday on hopes the US and Iran were drawing closer to an agreement. Roughly one-fifth of the world's oil passes through the strait, and further limits would squeeze already constrained supply, driving prices higher once again.
Control over the strait has proven to be one of Iran's main points of leverage and prompted the United States to deploy forces and initiate a blockade on Iranian ports as part of an effort to force Iran to accept a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire to end almost seven weeks of war that has raged between Israel, the US and Iran.
Iran said it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels after a 10-day truce was announced between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. But after Trump said the blockade would continue, top Iranian officials said his announcement violated last week's ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US and warned the strait would not stay open if the US blockade remained in effect.
A data firm, Kpler, said movement through the strait remained confined to corridors requiring Iran's approval.
US forces have sent 21 ships back to Iran since the blockade began on Monday, US Central Command said on X.
Truce in Lebanon could help US-Iran peace efforts
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The ceasefire in Lebanon could clear one major obstacle to an agreement. But it was unclear to what extent Hezbollah would abide by a deal it did not play a role in negotiating, and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.
Trump said in another post that Israel is “prohibited” by the US from further strikes on Lebanon and that “enough is enough” in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The State Department said the prohibition applies only to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defence.
Shortly before Trump's post, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel agreed to the ceasefire in Lebanon “at the request of my friend President Trump,” but that the campaign against Hezbollah is not complete.
He claimed Israel had destroyed about 90 per cent of Hezbollah's missile and rocket stockpiles and added that Israeli forces “have not finished yet” with the dismantling of the group.
In Beirut, displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.
The Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon reported sporadic artillery shelling in some parts of southern Lebanon in the hours after the ceasefire took effect.
An end to Israel's war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators, who previously accused Israel of breaking last week's ceasefire with strikes on Lebanon. Israel had said that the deal did not cover Lebanon.
The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen US service members have also been killed.
