6 held from Kalaburgi in ’23 Aland vote theft case

Investigators say the facility served as the base from which fraudulent deletion applications were submitted

Six people were arrested on Thursday after the special investigation team (SIT) probing allegations of vote theft during the 2023 assembly elections in Aland constituency identified a data centre in Kalaburgi as the alleged centre of the electoral roll manipulation racket, senior officers aware of the details said.

6 held from Kalaburgi in ’23 Aland vote theft case

Investigators say the facility served as the base from which fraudulent applications were submitted to delete thousands of names from the electoral rolls ahead of the elections.

“The data centre is central to the entire operation,” said a senior SIT officer involved in the probe. “We have traced the submissions, the devices used, and the financial trail linking those arrested to the voter deletions. Each deleted vote was paid for at ₹80 per submission.”

The SIT is expected to file an interim report soon, said another officer.

The six in custody were identified as Mohammed Ashfaq, a Kalaburgi resident, his associate Mohammed Akram, and four data entry operators, said police.

According to investigators, Ashfaq and Akram together ran the data centre, which allegedly processed fraudulent applications targeting voters believed to support the Congress — mainly those from marginalised and minority communities.

Investigators said that the SIT, which took over the investigation from the CID’s cybercrime unit on September 26, found that nearly 7,000 deletion requests had been filed, though most were rejected after Congress leaders raised objections. The deletions were halted after the chief electoral officer ordered a status quo on the rolls, they said, adding that the team recovered a laptop allegedly used to submit the deletion applications, along with records showing communication between the accused through internet-based calls.

“The digital forensics point to deliberate coordination,” the SIT officer said. “This was not a casual data entry. It was a well-structured effort with financial backing and digital precision.”

Searches conducted last week on the properties of BJP leader and former MLA Subhash Guttedar, his sons Harshananda and Santosh, and their chartered accountant, Mallikarjun Mahantagol, led to the seizure of over seven laptops and several mobile phones. The SIT is now investigating whether the money used for the deletions originated from political or local business sources, officers said.

Investigators have also identified 75 mobile numbers used to log into the Election Commission’s portal for the deletions. Many were registered in the names of ordinary citizens, from poultry workers to relatives of policemen, suggesting fake or borrowed identities were used.

The “vote chori” case came to light after Aland MLA BR Patil and minister Priyank Kharge, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, flagged large-scale deletions in early 2023. Patil, who won the election by around 10,000 votes against Guttedar, claimed that nearly 7,000 voters from his support base were targeted. “Had those votes been deleted, I would have surely lost,” Patil had said earlier.

The revelations led the state government to form the SIT, headed by additional director general of police BK Singh. “We have questioned around 30 people so far,” said another SIT officer. “The arrests mark a major step forward, but our focus remains on uncovering who financed and instructed the operation.”

The arrests have fuelled a political row, with Congress leaders accusing the BJP of orchestrating the manipulation. In a post on X, state minister Priyank Kharge wrote, “Voters deleted for just ₹80 in Aland. The SIT’s findings confirm what we’ve been saying — over 6,000 genuine voters were struck off the rolls through a paid operation ahead of the 2023 elections.” He added that a “full-fledged data centre was operating out of Kalaburagi, systematically tampering with democracy.”

Earlier, controversy erupted after charred electoral roll records were discovered near the residence of Subhash Guttedar. The former MLA denied wrongdoing, saying the documents were part of routine cleaning. “There was no mala fide intention,” he told reporters. “If we wanted to hide something, we wouldn’t have done it near our home.”

Investigators, however, say the evidence recovered from the Kalaburagi data centre could determine the scope of coordination and financing behind the voter manipulation. “The forensic data -- the calls, payments, and network logs -- is the backbone of this case,” said the SIT officer. “The data centre holds the key to understanding who benefitted and how far this conspiracy extended.”

(With PTI inputs).