A case of alleged submission of fake Form-7 to remove the names of 5,698 voters from the voter list has come to light in Karnataka's Jayanagar Assembly constituency. In this case, Jayanagar Police has registered an FIR against two Booth Level Agents (BLA) and others. This case was registered on Monday night. This action was taken on the complaint of Karnataka Mahila Congress President Soumya Reddy. Sowmya Reddy was MLA from 2018 to 2023 but lost the election in 2023 by just 16 votes. He has alleged that both the BLAs are associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Complainant Soumya Reddy is a former MLA from Jayanagar and was the Congress candidate from there in the 2023 assembly elections. She lost the election by just 16 votes.
What is the matter of Form-7?
According to the FIR, Form-7 applications were given to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during the Special Intensive Vetting (SIR) drive. These falsely claimed that 5,698 voters had permanently moved out of the area. Form-7 is used to register objection to any name in the voter list or to delete it. It was said in the complaint that wrong information was deliberately filled in these applications.
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It is alleged in the FIR that this work was done especially by targeting the voters of minority communities. Voters from other sections considered politically disadvantageous to the BJP and its allies were also affected.
use of others' names
According to the complaint, the names and voter IDs of two citizens, C. Ramesh and his wife Roopa, were used without informing them. Fake Form-7 were submitted to BLO in his name. The FIR also states that some Form-7 applications were submitted to BLO Lokesh with forged signatures.
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Jaynagar police have registered a case against accused BLA Ramakrishna, Yogesh and others under several sections of the Indian Justice Code. Police said that investigation into the case is ongoing.