Case against Bengaluru booth agent for filing 136 voter deletion forms with forged signatures

A case has been registered in Bengaluru against a Booth Level Agent for submitting 136 Form 7 applications with forged signatures to seek deletion of voters' names from the electoral rolls in Subedar Palya area, police said on Tuesday.

The case was registered on October 5 after a complaint by Congress leader Anoop Iyengar against BLA-2 Deepak Singh. The complaint alleged that Singh was affiliated with the BJP, though the FIR does not mention any party affiliation. Police said the matter is being looked into.

Iyengar, who contested the 2023 Karnataka Assembly polls from Malleshwaram, said that during the SIR process in Ward No 45 of his constituency, he came to know that Singh had allegedly submitted false records in Form 7 stating that voters living in the constituency were either absent or had permanently shifted.

According to the FIR, "It was found that 136 Form 7 applications pertaining to polling station No 68 in Subedar Palya, Ward No 45, had been submitted seeking deletion of the names of voters from the electoral rolls on the grounds that they were absent. The Form 7 applications were allegedly submitted by BLA-2 Singh of Subedar Palya Ward."

The complainant also said there were major discrepancies between the signatures on these forms and those of the original applicants.

The complaint further alleged that Singh and his associates had conspired to identify voters, collect or prepare Form 7 applications, process them and submit a large number of such applications in bulk, with the intention of depriving lawful voters of their right to remain on the electoral rolls. I

t also alleged that polling stations of a particular community had been targeted and that a comparison of several forms raised the possibility that signatures had been forged.

The FIR said, "It was alleged that the accused, being a public servant, had provided false information with the intention of causing harm to another person, created forged documents and entered into a conspiracy with the intention of committing fraud."

Based on the complaint, Bengaluru Police registered a case under Sections 319(2), 336(2), 340(2), 61(2)(b) and 217(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. In sum, the case centres on allegations that voter deletion forms were falsely filed in bulk, using forged signatures, and police are investigating the complaint.