Belagavi Market Police have registered an FIR against BJP leader Dr Ravi Patil and 20 to 25 others for allegedly attempting to delete the names of 198 Muslim voters from electoral rolls using Form-7 applications containing forged documents and false information.
The FIR was registered on September 30 following a complaint by Meerasab Sanadi, who was working as a Booth Level Agent in Ward No. 12 of the Belagavi North Assembly constituency.
According to the complaint, the alleged incident took place on September 22 at around 2:30 pm at polling booths 195 and 196 in Veerabhadra Nagar, where the accused allegedly targeted Muslim voters during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Alleged Fake Documents Submitted to BLO
The FIR alleges that Patil, Shankar Beerappa Naik, Pashant Deepak Mundinmani and 20 to 25 others came together and allegedly conspired to remove the names of 198 Muslim voters from the electoral roll.
The complainant alleged that the accused brought Form-7 applications along with forged documents and submitted them to a Booth Level Officer (BLO), claiming that the documents had been issued by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO).
Form-7 is used to raise an objection to the inclusion of a name or seek deletion of a name from an existing electoral roll.
Sanadi alleged that the forms also contained the names of him and his family members.
The complaint further alleged that the accused pressured the BLO to sign the applications and arranged for another person to speak over the phone while claiming to be the ERO.
The FIR said the complainant believed the alleged attempt to delete the 198 voters could create tension if the affected voters became agitated, potentially disturbing public order.
Police have registered the case under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including provisions related to cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, public mischief, provocation with intent to cause a riot and unlawful assembly.
Further investigation is underway.
Other FIRs Over Alleged SIR Irregularities
The Belagavi case is among several complaints in Karnataka concerning alleged irregularities during the SIR process.
In Bidar, businessman and voter Mohammed Ateeq Ahmed alleged that 3,244 voters, including him, were falsely shown as “shifted/absent” through Form-7 applications.
According to the complaint, the applications were submitted without authenticated documents from the affected voters and contained forged signatures. An FIR naming 32 accused persons was registered on October 1.
In Mysuru, social worker Syed Hasarath Ulla also filed a complaint alleging that Form-7 applications were submitted against him and his family members, falsely claiming they no longer lived at their registered address.
He further alleged that similar applications containing false information were filed against 28 other voters.
A case was registered at Narasimharaja police station against Harish Kumar C, Raghavendra M and Anil Thomas, identified as the BJP minority president, along with others.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, along with cabinet colleagues and MLAs, staged a sit-in outside Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar’s office on Thursday, demanding an FIR over what they described as “electoral fraud” during the ongoing SIR.
The allegations in the Belagavi, Bidar and Mysuru cases are subject to investigation.
