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CID arrests Bengal man over Aland ‘vote theft’ row; money trail under scanner
According to sources, the accused had applied for the deletion of a large number of votes in the Aland constituency.
The CID in West Bengal’s Nadia district has arrested a man in connection with the vote theft allegations in the Aland segment during the 2023 Karnataka assembly polls.
The accused, identified as Bapi Adya from Nadia, had applied for the deletion of a large number of votes in the Aland constituency and has now been taken into CID custody for interrogation, PTI reported.
Aland Congress MLA B R Patil alleged that most of these deletion requests targeted minority and backward caste voters.
CID sources said Bapi Adya was taken into custody after investigators found a money trail linked to his bank account.
Also Read | ‘No deletion of any vote can be done online’: EC's fresh response to Rahul Gandhi on Aland claims
What is the Aland controversy?
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, in a press conference on September 18, highlighted the ‘Vote Chori’ (vote theft) allegation.
He warned of mass voter deletions ahead of the 2023 Karnataka Assembly and last year’s general elections, backing his claims with PowerPoint presentations.
The Election Commission and BJP dismissed the allegations as baseless, accusing Congress of politicizing the issue.
The SIT, which took over from the CID’s cybercrime unit on September 26, found nearly 7,000 deletion requests, most of which were blocked after Congress raised objections.
After Minister Priyank Kharge and Patil lodged a complaint about these irregular voter-deletion requests, the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer ordered a status quo.
The case surfaced after Aland MLA BR Patil and minister Priyank Kharge flagged large-scale deletions.
A laptop used for submitting the requests and records of online communication among the accused were recovered, pointing to “deliberate coordination” rather than casual data entry, with financial backing and digital precision.
Investigators also traced 75 mobile numbers used to access the Election Commission portal, many registered in the names of ordinary citizens, suggesting fake or borrowed identities.
