Karnataka Government Sets Up SIT To Probe Mass Voter Deletions In Aland Constituency

The Karnataka government established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Saturday to probe allegations regarding widespread voter deletion from electoral rolls in the Aland constituency of Kalaburagi district during the 2023 assembly elections.

This action comes after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that a substantial number of voters were removed from Aland during the 2023 elections and accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting "vote chors." The Additional Director General of Police (CID) will head the SIT, with support from two Superintendent of Police rank officers, Saidulu Adavath and Shubhanwita.

The investigation was prompted after Aland MLA B R Patil filed a police complaint claiming that 6,670 voters across 256 polling stations were illegally removed from electoral lists.

According to a government order, election officers' verification revealed that applications were submitted to delete 6,018 voters, but only 24 were found legitimate and properly processed.

The remaining 5,994 applications were reportedly submitted using various mobile numbers without the voters' knowledge and with malicious intent.

The SIT has been granted police station powers under Section 2(U) of the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and is responsible for investigating all related cases throughout Karnataka.

The team will utilize available CID and local police resources and will submit its findings to competent courts.

The report will also be presented to the state government.