New Delhi: Following Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s a five-hour sit-in protest at the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer’s office on Thursday (October 1), an inquiry has been ordered into the alleged bulk Form-7 voter deletions in the state.“Our fight is for the sanctity of every vote and the integrity of our democratic process,” Shivakumar said. The delegation protested on the steps of the CEO’s office and said their agitation would continue until a criminal case was registered over the alleged irregularities.Thereafter, Karnataka Police registered five FIRs over bulk Form-7s under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023.A Congress delegation, including several state cabinet ministers, MLAs and MPs along with party workers accompanied the CM to the protest.“We have explained the irregularities taking place in the state. They have seen the evidence with their own eyes. BJP leaders have admitted their involvement and have asked that no action be taken against them and that the applications they submitted be returned,” Shivakumar told reporters.The CEO, V. Anbu Kumar, has ordered an inquiry under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, which would precede any other probe. Rule 20 requires a voter registration officer to first assess any claim or objection and record a finding.All Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have been directed to take action against applicants who “knowingly” make false statements or declarations while filing claims or objections in Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8, the Hindu reports.The Congress delegation demanded a suo motu probe by the election commission, as the state government says it has already submitted documents and videos related to wrongdoings the Mysuru, Belagavi and Bhalki constituencies to the election commission.Shivakumar said that around 13,000 Form-7 applications each were earlier submitted in two Assembly constituencies in Ballari and in Vijayapura, but these were later withdrawn. He said the BJP workers who filed these form withdrew them after being warned of punitive action for filing false applications. In a written declaration, they said they had made a mistake.“They have attempted to steal the voting rights of electors. This is vote theft,” he said, as per reports.“The entire country is watching this vote theft. We will not move from here until the Election Commission takes necessary action. Permission must be granted for the Deputy Commissioner to register a criminal case,” Shivakumar said.The BJP has reportedly defended its workers for filing objections, saying it is “not a crime” to flag suspicions.The Hindu‘s Rishita Khanna had earlier reported about bulk Form-7 filings in several districts across the state, in which most sought the deletion of Muslim voters’ names. The trend, identified through analysis of Form 10 data, shows the form being used across Belagavi North, Bhalki, Babaleshwar, Basavakalyan and Belthangady to challenge mostly Muslim voters’ inclusion on the rolls.Form 10 is the statutory declaration of objections to voters’ inclusion on the electoral roll that the Election Commission prepares.Also read: How a Campaign Against Muslim Voter Deletions – Aided by a Report on The Wire – Forced the Election Commission to ActIn Babaleshwar for instance, 10 people filed 1,363 Form-7 applications, while in Bhalki, around 30 people tried to delete 1,700-plus voters’ names. In Basavakalyan, one person filed 32 of the 37 applications received in a single day, all against Muslim voters. And in Belthangady, one person filed 21 applications against Muslim voters at just one polling station.In Belagavi North, Booth Level Officers (BLO) at six polling stations told the Hindu that two men claiming to be from the Belagavi City Corporation brought pre-printed Form-7 applications that sought to delete Muslim voters’ names in bulk. The officers allegedly pressured them to sign the forms, which they refused to do.The two men mentioned the ERO, Udayakumar Basavantappa Talawar, by name, and even bluffed placing a call to him. But the officer later denied asking for these deletions. On many of the Form-7s, the name of the person raising objections was not mentioned.Another report published by Vartha Bharti on Thursday claims to reveal a conversation between a journalist and a couple who identify themselves as BJP workers. The workers say that 50 Form-7 applications were filed from their booth in the Madikeri assembly constituency in Kodagu.They claim to have accesssed these forms, in which the names of voters were pre-printed, from their party office in Somwarpet. Only the objections had to be filled in by hand, but the reasons for seeking deletions that they discussed with the journalist did not match the reasons on the 20 Form-7s personally submitted by the couple.Another group of 38 people, The News Minute reported on September 26, sought the deletion of 3,750 voters, mostly Muslims, on two assembly seats. Their applications were filed in just the 48 hours before the claims and objections phase of the ongoing SIR ended in Karnataka on September 24.On September 2, The Wire published a ground report highlighting concerns over attempts to remove the names of Muslim voters from the electoral rolls through Form 7 during the SIR process in Odisha’s Bhadrak. Following the publication of the report, the Election Commission of India (ECI) eventually suspended a key official over suspected irregularities.As per an analysis by The Wire, the ECI received 34,13,481 Form 6 applications in West Bengal. Of those, the roll was successfully updated for 7,07,606 citizens, with another 14,079 marked as accepted. A massive 7,26,660 were rejected outright.For our full coverage on the SIR and the issues it has brought to citizens, click here.