Aland vote theft: SIT finds Rs 80 charged per voter deletion application

In Kalaburagi’s Aland assembly constituency, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the state government has intensified its investigation into the “vote theft” case, uncovering several irregularities. It has now emerged that Rs 80 was charged for each application submitted to delete names from the voter list between December 2022 and February 2023.

In that period, over 6,000 applications were reportedly submitted to the Election Commission (EC) by a cyber centre requesting the deletion of voter names. Sources from the SIT have revealed that the accused involved in the scam paid a total of Rs 4.8 lakh.

The SIT is also investigating how the cyber centre’s operators accessed the EC portal without authorization to submit applications to delete voter names. Additionally, the investigation has intensified regarding the source of the money used for the vote theft.

Also read: Karnataka 'vote theft' probe: SIT raids properties linked to ex-BJP MLA

On October 17, SIT officials searched the residences of former BJP MLA Subhash Guttedar, his sons Harshanand and Santosh, and their accountant Mallikarjun Mahantagol in Aland. During these searches, they seized mobile phones belonging to relatives and seven laptops. They also identified 75 mobile numbers used to submit applications for deleting voter names.

Main accused flees to Dubai

The main accused in the case, local resident Mohammed Ashfaq, has reportedly fled to Dubai, and SIT officials are preparing to issue a Blue Corner notice to apprehend him.

When the vote theft case came to light in February 2023, the police and CID officials had detained Ashfaq, the owner of the cyber centre, for questioning. He was released after he promised to hand over the electronic devices in his possession.

Subsequently, Ashfaq escaped to Dubai. Currently, SIT officials are examining the electronic devices seized from Ashfaq, revealing that he was in contact with MD Akram and others through internet protocol details and internet calls. Therefore, SIT officials are preparing to issue a Blue Corner notice to bring him back from Dubai.

The data centre was allegedly managed by Md Akram and Ashfaq. Several data entry operators were also allegedly involved when applications were submitted to delete voter names. The SIT officials are reportedly tracking their whereabouts as well.

Also read: 'Voter deletion' in Aland: Karnataka govt forms SIT to probe allegations

What is the Aland vote-theft case?

It was alleged that an attempt was made to illegally remove around 6,018 voter names from the voter list in the Aland assembly constituency before the 2023 assembly elections. This irregularity came to light after the EC noticed an application from a booth-level officer requesting the removal of a relative’s name.

Upon investigation, 6,018 applications requesting name deletions were found. After reviewing these, only 24 names were actually removed from the list. The remaining 5,994 applications were confirmed to be fake.

Assistant Election Officer Mamata Kumari reported that there were attempts to submit fake documents to delete names without the voters’ knowledge. There were also allegations that the intention was to remove names from the lists of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and minority communities. MLA BR Patil also made serious allegations regarding the vote theft.

Also read: Will Rahul Gandhi's 'vote-chori' charge ring with voters? | Talking Sense With Srini

Discovery of burnt ballots

During a raid by SIT officials on the residences of former MLA Subhash Guttedar and his sons on October 17, it was reportedly revealed that ballots and voter ID cards were burned. Videos showing several documents, including ballots, being set on fire went viral.

Ballots that were burned were seized near the Shakhapur bridge on the Solapur highway, and investigations were conducted. It was suspected that all these documents were transported out of the area in a mini goods vehicle and burned at night and dumped into the water.

Rahul Gandhi’s allegations

It was Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who held a press conference in New Delhi on September 18, releasing documents stating that there was an attempt to steal votes in Aland constituency. This created a significant stir at the national level.

Some miscreants in Hyderabad also allegedly tried to delete votes in villages where the Congress had a strong presence. It was alleged that 20 to 40 votes were deleted in each village, with over 60 villages having their votes deleted.

Also read: Just 24 deletions, not 6,000, were made in Aland: Ex-CEC Gopalaswami

Rahul Gandhi claimed that phone numbers from other states were used to delete votes. Using the name of Suryakanth, 12 votes were deleted in 14 minutes. Documents revealed that vote theft targeted booths where Congress had a stronghold.

EC's denial

The Congress has alleged that the EC deliberately removed Congress voters from the list. Multiple voters’ names were deleted under a single name. While additional names were added to the voter list in Mahadevapura, Bengaluru, names were deleted in the Aland constituency. Even when the EC was apprised of these irregularities, they allegedly delayed taking appropriate action.

The Congress government in the state ordered a CID investigation into the Aland vote theft. However, Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the EC did not share enough evidence of the case with the investigative agency.

Also read: Aland constituency in focus as Rahul slams EC over voter deletion attempts

The EC, which has denied the allegations, has claimed that the allegation that a large number of voter names were deleted is false. A total of 6,015 people had applied to remove their names from the voter list, but only 24 names were actually removed. BJP leaders have also dismissed these allegations. Local BJP leader Subhash Guthedar called the allegations “politically motivated”.

(This story was originally published in The Federal Karnataka)