FIR against booth agent over Form 7 plea to delete 30 Muslim voters in Hyderabad

Hyderabad Police have registered an FIR against a Booth Level Agent (BLA) from the BJP for submitting Form-7 applications seeking the deletion of the names of 30 Muslim voters from a single family from the electoral rolls in the city's Musheerabad area.The FIR against S Balachander is the first in connection with the Form-7 complaints in the city. It was registered after a Congress-associated BLA alleged that pre-printed Form-7 applications had been submitted seeking the deletion of the names of 30 members of his family from the electoral roll on the ground that they had "permanently shifted".The family, speaking to India Today TV on Tuesday, sought an enquiry and alleged that the applications had been submitted by a BJP-linked Booth Level Agent known to them.Police said the case was registered on the basis of a complaint regarding the alleged Form-7 applications. The matter is under investigation, and police are examining the circumstances in which the applications were submitted and the allegations surrounding them. Mohammed Shafuddin, a BLA, alleged that a pre-printed Form-7 carrying the details of him and 29 members of his family had been submitted seeking their removal from the electoral roll.Shafuddin said he had been working as a BLA for the past two months and assisting the Election Commission in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. "I was informed by the BLO that a Form-7 had been submitted against my name and the names of my family members. I immediately rushed there and found that a pre-printed Form-7 carrying our details had been submitted, stating that we had permanently shifted," he said.He further alleged that the person who submitted the applications was a BJP-linked BLA known to him."I am working as a BLA and helping the Election Commission in the SIR process. It is shocking that my name and the names of my family members have been submitted for deletion. The person who submitted it is a known BJP BLA," Shafuddin alleged.Referring to the FIR, Shafuddin said, "After an interview yesterday, I was informed in the night that an FIR was registered by Chikkadpally Police against Balachander. We demand strict action."Local Congress leader Wajid Hussain said the matter was first brought to the party's notice and that a complaint was subsequently submitted to the Chief Election Commissioner."We brought the issue to the notice of our party and submitted a complaint to the Chief Election Commissioner. As there was no response, we approached Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar and submitted a complaint seeking action," he said.Shafuddin's brother Mohammed said the family had been living in the same locality for generations and questioned the claim that they had permanently shifted."We have been living here for nearly 80 years. Same house, same locality. The person who submitted the Form-7 is known to us. We have seen him since our childhood, and he even studied with my brother. It is shocking and painful that someone known to us has done this," he told India Today TV.The family has demanded an enquiry into who submitted the Form-7 applications and on what basis the deletion requests were made.The allegations have come amid a wider political row in Telangana over the use of Form-7 during the ongoing electoral roll revision.The Telangana Chief Electoral Officer has ordered action against those who knowingly submit false declarations or statements in Form-7 applications seeking deletion of voters' names.Amid the controversy, the CEO issued a memorandum warning applicants against making false statements or declarations in Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8. Electoral Registration Officers were also directed to take action after conducting an enquiry under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules.In another instance, 15 pre-printed Form-7 applications seeking deletion of voters' names were reportedly brought before a Booth Level Officer in Hyderabad's Goshamahal constituency. The forms allegedly carried details of voters, including their EPIC numbers, but were not properly filled out or signed by the applicants.The Congress has alleged that the pre-printed applications were brought by a BJP Booth Level Agent and that the forms sought deletion of the names of Muslim voters.The party has sought an enquiry into the source of the forms and questioned how voter details, including EPIC numbers, came to be included in applications that were neither filled out nor signed by the concerned voters.- Ends