Published Oct 04, 2026 | 8:22 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 04, 2026 | 8:56 PM
Last week, Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that a large number of Form 7 objections seeking deletion of names had been filed in bulk.
Synopsis: Karnataka police have registered at least three FIRs in Belagavi, Bidar, Bengaluru and Mysuru over the alleged bulk filing of Form 7 applications to remove voters, particularly Muslims, from the electoral rolls during the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision. The allegations include providing false information about voters’ residence and forging signatures and documents while filing the applications.
The Karnataka police have registered at least three FIRs naming BJP workers, among others in Belagavi, Bidar, Bengaluru and Mysuru districts over alleged bulk filing of Form 7 applications targeting eligible voters from minority communities, particularly Muslims, during the Election Commission of India’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Copies of FIRs registered at Belagavi, Bidar and at the Narasimharaja police station in Mysuru are with South First. Reports also indicate that another FIR was registered at the Krishnaraja police station in Mysuru. South First could not independently verify the latter FIR.
Separately, the Shahapur police in Belagavi said they had received a complaint against BJP MLA Abhay Patil in connection with similar allegations. No FIR had been registered on the complaint.
The FIRs follow reports of bulk filing of Form 7 applications. The form is used to object to the inclusion of an existing name in an electoral roll or seek deletion of an entry, including on grounds such as death or permanent shifting.
Last week, leaders of the ruling Congress, including Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, said that a large number of Form 7 objections seeking deletion of names had been filed in bulk, particularly during the last few days of the claims and objections period – 22, 23 and 24 September.
Shivakumar cited approximately 3,000 Form 7 applications in Belagavi North, 6,259 in Mudigere, 1,373 in Babaleshwar, 1,200 in Narasimha Raj and 2,285 in Bhalki constituencies, besides similarly large numbers in other constituencies.
Subsequently, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar directed Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in all 224 Assembly constituencies to act against applicants who knowingly make false declarations in Form 7.
At Belagavi’s Market police station, FIR No. 218/2026 was registered on 1 October on a complaint by Meerasab Sanadi, a 52-year-old autorickshaw driver and Booth Level Agent (BLA) in Ward No. 12 of the Belagavi North constituency. The FIR names Shankar Birappa Naik, Prashant Deepak Mundinamani and Dr Ravi Patil, along with 20–25 unidentified persons.
Sanadi alleged that the accused acted together to target 198 Muslim voters for deletion from the electoral roll and submitted false information and documents in the process.
Dr Patil was the BJP candidate from Belagavi North in the 2023 Assembly election. The allegations in the complaint are under investigation.
At the Bhalki Town police station in Bidar district, FIR No. 162/2026 was registered on 1 October on a complaint by Mohd Ateeq Ahmed, a 40-year-old businessman from Bhalki. The FIR names 32 people.
Ahmed said in his complaint that he is a voter in the Bhalki Assembly constituency and was appointed a nominated member of the Bhalki municipal body in 2024. According to the complaint, 3,244 Form 7 applications were submitted between 21 and 23 September, showing voters, including Ahmed, as “shifted/absent”.
The complaint further alleges that forged signatures and false information were used in the applications without obtaining supporting documents from the voters concerned, with the intention of removing their names from the electoral roll.
The FIR does not identify the political affiliations of the 32 accused.
Also Read: Karnataka BJP threatens statewide agitation if workers face action over Form 7 filings
At the Narasimharaja police station in Mysuru, FIR No. 220/2026 was registered on 1 October on a complaint by Syed Hasarath Ulla, a 57-year-old social worker. The FIR names Harish Kumar C, Raghavendra M, Anil Thomas and others. It identifies Thomas as the BJP Minority President.
Hasarath Ulla said in his complaint that he had contested Mysuru municipal elections three times and won, and that he and his family had been voters at the same address for decades. He alleged that Harish Kumar submitted Form 7 applications concerning 28 voters, Raghavendra 27 and Thomas 36, accusing them of furnishing false information to the Election Commission.
The complaint alleges that the applications were intended to have the names of the complainant, his family members and other Muslim voters removed from the electoral roll. The allegations are under investigation.
A fourth FIR has been reported at the Krishnaraja police station in Mysuru in connection with 501 Form 7 applications.
In Bengaluru, an FIR was registered at Vyalikaval police station on 2 October following a complaint by Congress leader Anoop Iyengar over Form 7 applications seeking deletion of voters in the Malleswaram Assembly constituency.
The FIR, Crime No. 130/2026, names GS Vasanthalakshmi and an unidentified person as the accused. According to the complainant, 778 Form 7 applications had been submitted seeking deletion of voters on the ground that they had shifted from their registered addresses.
The complaint alleged that false information was furnished and that documents and signatures were misused or forged in connection with the applications. The allegations are under investigation. The case has been registered under Sections 319(2), 336(2), 340(2), 61(2)(b) and 217(b) of the BNS.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
