Booth Level Agents face FIRs for alleged voter list manipulation in India

Police in Telangana and Karnataka have registered First Information Reports (FIRs) against several Booth Level Agents (BLAs) for allegedly using fraudulent Form-7 submissions to remove voters from electoral rolls.

In Hyderabad, Telangana, an FIR was filed against BJP BLA S. Balachander in the Musheerabad constituency. He is accused of submitting 30 pre-printed, fraudulent Form-7s to remove a Muslim family from the voter list. Investigations revealed the targeted individuals still reside at their registered addresses. Similar instances of pre-printed forms have been reported in the Bahadurpura and Goshamahal constituencies.

In Karnataka, legal action was taken in Bengaluru's Malleshwaram area against BLA Deepak Singh, who is accused of submitting 136 Form-7s with forged signatures. Additionally, in Bellary, an FIR was filed against BLA T. Srinivas Mothkur for allegedly providing false information to remove 7,561 voters, leading to a court-ordered search of his office.

The Chief Electoral Officer has ordered strict action against individuals making willfully false statements in voter registration forms. Authorities noted that some mobile numbers used to fill these forms online were traced to Andhra Pradesh.