Votes Deleted for Rs 80 in Karnataka’s Aland: SIT
Top sources in the Criminal Investigation Department told PTI that for every successfully deleted vote, the suspects were paid Rs 80. There were requests to delete 6,994 votes, but barring a few genuine cases, other requests were bogus.
Bengaluru: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged ‘vote chori’ (vote theft) in the Aland Assembly constituency during the 2023 Karnataka elections has found that attempts were made to delete names from the voters’ list. Investigators have identified at least six suspects believed to be involved in the scam.
According to top Criminal Investigation Department (CID) sources, the suspects were allegedly paid ₹80 per deleted voter name. “There were applications to delete 6,994 names. Except for a few genuine cases, most requests were bogus,” a senior officer said.
Located in Kalaburagi district of north Karnataka, the home turf of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Aland is represented by senior Congress MLA B.R. Patil. The alleged voter deletion came to light after Patil and Priyank Kharge, MLA from Chittapur and a state minister, alerted the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) about suspicious voter list changes.
Patil said the applications targeted around 6,994 Congress voters, mostly Dalits and minorities. “If these names had been deleted, I would have certainly lost the election,” said Patil, who won by a margin of about 10,000 votes over BJP’s Subhash Guttedar. Following the complaint, the CEO ordered that no deletions be carried out.
Taking serious note of the allegations, the Karnataka government set up the SIT, led by additional director general of police (CID) B.K. Singh, to investigate the case. “Attempts were indeed made in Aland to delete votes. We questioned around 30 people, and five to six are strong suspects who may be arrested soon,” a top CID official said.
The suspects, according to CID sources, were linked to a data centre and allegedly used voice over internet protocol (VoIP) systems to delete voter names. Acting on this information, the SIT raided premises connected to the suspects, including those of Subhash Guttedar, his sons Harshananda and Santosh Guttedar, and their chartered accountant.
During searches, investigators also discovered burnt voter records near Guttedar’s residence. Responding to the finding, Guttedar told reporters that his housekeeping staff had burnt waste materials ahead of Diwali and denied any wrongdoing. “If we had ulterior motives, we would not have done it near our house,” he said.
The issue gained renewed attention after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently cited Aland as an example of “vote chori” while alleging systematic voter manipulation.
Reacting to the SIT findings, minister Priyank Kharge said on social media platform X: “Voters deleted for just ₹80 in Aland. The latest findings from the Karnataka SIT confirm what we’ve been saying all along, over 6,000 genuine voters were struck off the rolls through a paid operation ahead of the 2023 elections in Aland.”
Kharge alleged that a data centre in Kalaburagi had been systematically deleting voters’ names and tampering with the democratic process. “All investigations now point to foul play by BJP leaders and their associates. Every dirty trick from the BJP’s Vote Chori playbook will be exposed, and those responsible will be held accountable,” he said.
