Aland 'vote theft' case: SIT files chargesheet against former BJP MLA, son and five others
BENGALURU: The Special Investigation Team (SIT probing the alleged ‘vote chori’ (vote theft) in the Aland Assembly constituency during the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections has filed a chargesheet naming seven individuals, including a former BJP MLA, his son and a close aide.
The chargesheet, submitted before the First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Bengaluru, pertains to the alleged deletion of the names of 5,994 voters from the electoral rolls.
According to sources in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the charge sheet runs to over 22,000 pages and details the modus operandi allegedly used to remove voters’ names.
Those named in the charge sheet are Subhash Guttedar, a four-time former MLA from Aland; his son, Harshanand Guttedar; his personal secretary, Tipperudra; three Kalaburagi-based data centre operators, Akram Pasha, Mukaram Pasha and Mohammed Ashfaq, and Bapi Adya from West Bengal.
Adya was the first person arrested in the case. He allegedly operated a website, OTPbazaar, which was linked to a US-based platform and provided an “OTP bypass” facility. He was later released on bail.
A special court had earlier granted anticipatory bail to Subhash Guttedar, his son and Tipperudra, sources said.
Responding to the developments on Saturday, Harshanand Guttedar dismissed the allegations, claiming that he and his father had been falsely implicated in the case.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar told reporters in Bengaluru that a statewide campaign against alleged vote theft had begun at Freedom Park in the city.
He said a protest rally against vote theft would be held on Sunday at Ram Leela Maidan in Delhi, with thousands of participants expected to attend. Congress leaders from across Karnataka and more than 100 legislators are set to take part, he added.
Shivakumar said he would also travel to Delhi to attend the rally. As president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, he said he was responsible for making accommodation arrangements for participants from the state.
“We may have faced defeat, but we are confident of spreading awareness among the people. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has organised the protest, while AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge is leading the campaign. We are going there to support them,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.