Published Oct 08, 2026 | 8:57 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 08, 2026 | 9:00 PM
Vijayapura City MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal. (File Photo)
Synopsis: Karnataka police have registered an FIR against expelled BJP leader and Vijayapura City MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal for allegedly submitting a forged death certificate to remove a living voter’s name from the electoral roll during the SIR. The case, based on a complaint by a voter in Vijayapura whose name was reportedly deleted using the document submitted by Yatnal, follows allegations by eight Muslim women from Vijayapura that they were similarly shown as deceased in forged documents submitted to the ECI to have their names deleted.
The Karnataka police have registered an FIR against former BJP leader and Vijayapura City MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal for allegedly submitting a forged death certificate to get the name of a living voter removed from the electoral roll.
The BJP expelled Yatnal for six years for violating party discipline in March 2025.
The FIR was registered on Thursday, 8 October, on a complaint by Abdul Razak Moulasab Bagawan, 50, a voter in Vijayapura City Assembly constituency. In his complaint, Bagawan alleged that Yatnal falsely represented him as dead and submitted a forged death certificate along with a letter on his official MLA letterhead to the Vijayapura City Corporation Commissioner on 3 September.
Bagawan said his name was subsequently removed from the Vijayapura City electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even though he was alive.
Jalanagar police have booked Yatnal under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (cheating), Section 336(3) (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and Section 340(2) (using a forged document as genuine).
The FIR follows allegations made on Wednesday by eight Muslim women from Vijayapura, who said at a press conference in Bengaluru that they had been shown as ‘deceased’ in documents submitted to the Election Commission of India during the SIR.
They displayed copies of the alleged death certificates and other documents which they said had been submitted to show them as dead and demanded registration of a criminal case against those responsible.
The development comes amid reports of bulk filing of Form 7 objections across multiple constituencies in the State, seeking deletion of eligible voters from minority communities, particularly Muslims, during the SIR.
(Edited by Dese Gowda with inputs from Keerthivas)
