Eight Muslim women from Vijayapura, Karnataka, have alleged that they were wrongly shown as “deceased” in documents submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI) during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The women have demanded criminal action against Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, who has been expelled from the BJP, and others allegedly involved in submitting the documents.
The allegations were made at a press conference organised by Jagrutha Karnataka, a social-political organisation, in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The women displayed copies of death certificates and other documents that they claimed were used to show them as dead.
Woman Says She Fears Losing Government Benefits
Raziya Sheikh, an Anganwadi helper who has lived in Vijayapura for nearly 30 years, said a death certificate had been submitted in her name even though she is alive.
“I am worried that I may lose my ration card and other government benefits,” Sheikh said.
Sheikh said she is illiterate and works as an Anganwadi helper to support her family. She also said her husband is a person with a disability.
Sheikh and seven other Muslim women were allegedly shown as deceased in the documents. Mahaboobi Sheikh and Malani Jamadar, who spoke on behalf of the women, urged the ECI to register FIRs against officials who allegedly issued false death certificates and those who submitted them.
The women alleged that the move was an attempt to deprive them of their voting rights because they are Muslims.
Allegations Against Basanagouda Patil Yatnal
Jagrutha Karnataka convener H.V. Vasu alleged that Yatnal had submitted a list of 1,054 people to election authorities through a letter dated August 31, about a week after the draft electoral rolls were published on August 24.
According to Vasu, death certificates were attached in only eight cases, involving the eight Muslim women who are alive.
The organisation also questioned how the names of voters across 198 polling stations could have been matched with details of deceased persons within such a short period.
It further questioned how colour photographs from the women’s voter ID cards were obtained, alleging that the photographs were available in ECI records.
Vasu alleged that discrepancies in the names and the names of husbands or fathers in the documents resulted in living voters such as Jamadar, Mahaboobi Sheikh and Raziya Sheikh being shown as deceased.
He also alleged that election officials acted swiftly after Yatnal submitted his letter and demanded that a criminal case be registered against him.
Claim Over 13,000 Form 7 Applications
Irfan Sheikh, a journalist from Vijayapura, separately alleged that 13,000 printed Form 7 applications had been submitted to municipal authorities in two batches of 5,000 and 8,000.
Form 7 is used to request deletion of a name from the electoral roll, including when a voter has died.
Irfan Sheikh claimed the applications were withdrawn on the same evening after the ECI sought an endorsement related to the self-declaration accompanying the forms.
He alleged that the withdrawal was an attempt to prevent the alleged irregularities from coming to light.
