Voter List Irregularities: Karnataka Government Forms SIT for Aland Constituency

The Karnataka government has taken action to investigate allegations of voter list manipulation in the Aland Assembly constituency of Kalaburagi district during the 2023 elections. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to examine these claims, which include accusations of large-scale removal of voters’ names. The decision follows a statement by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who claimed that names were improperly deleted and that the Chief Election Commissioner was protecting those involved. The SIT will be led by an Additional Director General of Police from the CID and will include two police officers of the rank of Superintendent. The investigation stems from a police complaint filed by Aland MLA B.R. Patil, who reported the illegal removal of 6,670 voters’ names from the voter list across 256 polling stations. A government order indicated that verification revealed that a vast majority of the applications to remove names were invalid. Specifically, out of 6,018 applications, only 24 were found to be valid, with the remainder allegedly submitted using different mobile numbers, without the affected voters’ knowledge, and with malicious intent. The SIT will have police station powers under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, to investigate all related cases across the state and will submit its findings to both the courts and the state government.