Votegate: Four BBMP officials remanded in police custody

The four BBMP officials arrested in the voter data theft scandal were remanded in police custody for three days on Sunday.

Revenue Officers (ROs) Chandrashekhar K (Mahadevapura), Suhail Ahmed (Shivajinagar) and V B Bhimashankar (Chickept), and Assistant Revenue Officer (ARO) Mahesh (RR Nagar) were arrested by the Halasuru Gate police on Saturday evening. They are accused of putting their signatures and seals on blank ID cards that were issued to Chilume Educational, Cultural and Rural Development Institute, the NGO at the heart of the scandal.

The Malleswaram-based NGO allegedly filled up the ID cards to identify its workers as Booth Level Officers (BLOs). A BLO card is issued only to government staff such as schoolteachers, meter readers and Anganwadi workers.

Using the BLO cards, Chilume workers allegedly collected sensitive data such as Aadhaar and voter ID details from citizens in the name of creating voter awareness. The NGO allegedly intended to sell the data to candidates in the 2023 Assembly elections.

An RO works as an Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) in an Assembly constituency while an ARO doubles up as an Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) overseeing three to four wards.

Bengaluru police have launched criminal investigations into the votegate scandal by registering two cases. They are investigating financial transactions, if any, between Chilume authorities and BBMP officials.

“We are checking the bank accounts,” an officer from the Halasuru Gate police station said.