As the SIR row across India intensifies, an FIR was registered against Karnataka BJP leader Ravi Patil and others for allegedly attempting to get the names of 198 voters belonging to the minority community deleted from the electoral roll in Belagavi district using Form-7 applications during the ongoing SIR process, police said on Friday. According to the cops, a Booth level officer named Meerasab Sanadi filed the complaint on Thursday at the Belagavi Market police station.

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The complaint mentioned that the accused persons Patil, Shankar Beerappa Naik and Pashant Deepak Mundinmani, along with 20-25 others, allegedly came together and targetted only voters belonging to the Muslim community. The accused individuals allegedly created forged documents and submitted them to the BLO, claiming those were original and had been issued by the ERO.

The complainant, Sanadi, noted that the forged documents also listed his name and those of his family members. According to the police, an FIR has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections for cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, and provoking public mischief, among other charges. Further investigation is underway.

Similar incident Reported in Mysuru And Bihar

In Mysuru, a complaint was lodged by Syed Hasarath Ulla, a social worker, who alleged that Form-7 applications were submitted during the SIR process claiming that he and his family members were not residing at their registered address, despite having lived there for several years.

In another such case reported in Bidar, 40-year-old businessman and voter from Bhalki, Mohammed Ateeq Ahmed, alleged in his complaint that 3,244 voters, including him, were falsely shown as “shifted/absent” through Form-7 applications during the SIR of electoral rolls.

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Reports Reveal Arguable Developments

In Belagavi North, Booth Level Officers (BLO) at six polling stations said that two people claiming to be from Belagavi City Corporation brought pre-printed Form-7 applications that sought to delete Muslim voters’ names in bulk. The officers allegedly pressured them to sign the forms, which they refused to do, the Hindu reported.

In a separate incident, a conversation was reported between a journalist and a couple who claimed to be BJP workers. The couple said that 50 Form-7 applications were filed from their booth in the Madikeri assembly constituency in Kodagu.

The couple alleged that the names were pre-printed from their party office in Somwarpet. Only the objections had to be filled in by hand, Vartha Bharti reported. However, the reasons for seeking deletions that they discussed with the journalist did not match the reasons on the 20 Form-7s personally submitted by the couple.