Hyderabad police have registered a case against a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) booth-level agent and others for allegedly attempting to remove the names of 30 Muslim voters from the electoral rolls in the Musheerabad Assembly constituency through pre-printed Form 7 applications.
The case was registered by Chikkadpally police on Tuesday, October 6, following a complaint by T Praveen Kumar Reddy, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for Musheerabad. The action came after election officials verified the details of the 30 voters and found that all of them were residing at the addresses recorded in the electoral rolls.
According to the complaint, BJP booth-level agent S Balachander brought 30 digitally pre-printed Form 7 applications to polling station No. 210 on September 28, seeking deletion of the voters’ names. Form 7 is used to submit claims or objections seeking the deletion of names from electoral rolls.
The Booth Level Officer (BLO) and the polling station supervisor reportedly refused to accept the bulk submission. Balachander allegedly left the forms at the polling station before leaving the premises.
Verification Found All 30 Voters at Listed Addresses
Election officials conducted a field verification following the incident. The inquiry found that all 30 voters were living at their registered addresses, according to the complaint. The applications were subsequently considered unsuitable for acceptance.
The voters included Congress booth-level agent Mohammed Shafuddin and members of his extended family. The incident has raised concerns over the alleged misuse of electoral forms during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Telangana.
Police have booked Balachander under Sections 217 and 318(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to furnishing false information to a public servant and cheating, respectively. Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which deals with false statements or declarations in connection with electoral matters, has also been invoked.
The allegations are under investigation, and the registration of a case does not establish the accused’s guilt.
Controversy Over Form 7 Applications
The incident comes amid a wider political controversy over the alleged submission of bulk Form 7 applications targeting Muslim voters in parts of Hyderabad.
AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has separately alleged that similar applications were submitted against 122 Muslim voters in the Goshamahal Assembly constituency. He has called on the Election Commission to investigate the matter and take action against anyone found to have submitted false declarations.
The Telangana Chief Electoral Officer, C Sudharshan Reddy, issued a directive on October 5 asking election officials to initiate action against individuals found, after due inquiry, to have knowingly submitted false information in electoral forms.
The BJP has rejected allegations of a party-led campaign to remove voters from electoral rolls and has called for claims to be established through the appropriate legal process.
