BENGALURU: Two separate FIRs were registered on Monday in connection with the alleged submission of fraudulent Form 7 applications seeking the deletion of voters from the electoral rolls in the Jayanagar and Malleswaram Assembly constituencies in Bengaluru.
So far, three FIRs have been registered in Bengaluru city over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise.
The Jayanagar police registered an FIR based on a complaint filed by former Jayanagar MLA from the Congress, Sowmya Reddy, who alleged that 5,698 voters had been shown as having permanently shifted from the constituency through Form 7 applications during the ongoing SIR exercise.
Reddy alleged that Ramakrishna and Yogesh, identified as BJP-linked Booth Level Agents (BLAs), along with others, deliberately submitted false information in the Form 7 applications.
She further alleged that the exercise disproportionately targeted voters belonging to minority communities and other sections perceived to be politically unfavourable to the BJP and its allies.
The complainant further alleged that the names and voter ID details of two citizens, C Ramesh and his wife Roopa, were used to submit Form 7 applications without their knowledge or consent. She also alleged that some of the applications submitted to Booth Level Officer Lokesh contained forged signatures.
Meanwhile, the Yeshwanthpur police registered a case following a complaint filed by Congress leader Anup Iyengar, who alleged that BLA Deepak Singh had submitted false information through Form 7 applications, claiming that voters who were residing in the constituency were absent or had permanently shifted.
According to the complaint, 136 applications relating to polling station number 68 in Subedar Palya, Ward No. 45, had been submitted seeking the deletion of voters from the electoral rolls on the ground that they were absent.
Significant discrepancies were also allegedly found between the signatures appearing on the applications and those of the original applicants, raising suspicion of forgery, the complaint read.
The police said an investigation has been initiated to ascertain who submitted the applications, whether the signatures were forged and whether the voters’ details were misused.
It also examine the role of the persons named in the complaints and verify the records submitted during the electoral-roll revision process.