Karnataka Government Orders SIT on Aland Constituency Voter List Controversy

Karnataka Forms SIT to Probe Mass Voter Deletions in Aland.

The Karnataka government on Saturday set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate alleged large-scale deletion of voters from the electoral rolls in Aland constituency, Kalaburagi district, during the 2023 assembly polls.

The decision comes amid claims by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that thousands of voters were removed and that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar shielded those responsible.

The SIT will be led by the Additional Director General of Police (CID) and assisted by Superintendents of Police Saidulu Adavath and Shubhanwita.

The move follows a complaint by Aland MLA B R Patil, who stated that 6,670 voters across 256 polling stations were unlawfully removed. Election verification revealed that of the 6,018 deletion applications, only 24 were valid, while 5,994 were allegedly submitted using different mobile numbers without voter consent, suggesting mala fide intent.

The SIT has been granted police station powers under Section 2(U) of the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and will investigate all related cases across Karnataka. Its findings will be submitted to the competent courts and forwarded to the state government.