Jayanagar Form-7 row: FIR over bid to delete 5,698 voter names

Bengaluru: An FIR has been registered at Jayanagar police station following a complaint by KPCC women’s wing president and former MLA Sowmya Reddy, who alleged that Form-7 applications were misused in an attempt to remove thousands of voters from the electoral rolls in the Jayanagar Assembly constituency.

Reddy has alleged that 5,698 Form-7 applications were submitted seeking deletion of voter names from the constituency. She has questioned the authenticity of the applications and alleged that the exercise was aimed at removing genuine voters from the electoral list.

According to the complaint, the names of C. Ramesh and Roopa were used in some of the applications. Reddy alleged that their personal details had been copied and used to file Form-7 applications without their knowledge or consent.

An FIR has been registered against five persons, including BJP functionaries Ramakrishna and Yogesh. The complaint also mentions Jayanagar BJP MLA C.K. Ramamurthy. The allegations against the persons named in the complaint are yet to be established and police are investigating the matter.

Reddy has reportedly submitted video footage and other material along with her complaint and urged police to verify the records and identify those responsible for the alleged irregularities.

The applications were reportedly spread across several wards in the constituency. Halsuru ward accounted for 54 applications, while Bairasandra wards recorded 525 and 719 applications. Gurappanapalya recorded the largest number, with 4,327 applications. Another 82 applications were reported from Jayanagar wards 177, 178 and 179.

The case comes amid a broader political controversy in Karnataka over the ongoing revision of electoral rolls and alleged misuse of Form-7 applications.

Form-7 is the prescribed application used for seeking deletion of a voter’s name from the electoral roll or raising an objection to an existing entry.

Police are expected to verify the applications, supporting documents, identities of applicants and the circumstances under which the forms were submitted. The investigation will determine whether the alleged use of voter information was deliberate and whether any electoral rules or criminal laws were violated.