In response to serious accusations from Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi concerning alleged vote fraud in the Aland Assembly constituency during 2023, and claims that the Election Commission of India (ECI) was hindering the investigation by withholding crucial technical data from Karnataka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka has stated his office has fully cooperated. The CEO confirmed that, following ECI directives, all available information was submitted to the Superintendent of Police, Kalaburagi district, on September 6, 2023, to facilitate the ongoing probe.
However, a significant point of contention has emerged: while the CID has persistently requested ‘destination IPs and destination ports’—critical data for identifying the origins of the forged Form 7 applications—the CEO’s press release on Thursday only mentioned providing other details. These include the objector’s form reference number, name, EPIC number, login and processing mobile numbers, software application used, IP address, applicant’s location, and the date and time of form submission and user creation. Conspicuously absent was any mention of the highly sought-after destination IPs and ports.
Alarmingly, the CID has sent no fewer than 18 letters since September 2023, specifically seeking these ‘destination IPs and destination ports,’ yet all have gone unanswered. The CEO’s recent statement completely bypasses this critical lack of response.
It is worth noting that The Hindu initially broke this story on September 7, and at that time, the Chief Electoral Officer had not provided a response before publication.
The CEO further asserted in his Thursday statement that, beyond providing the aforementioned data, his office has also held meetings with the investigating officer and police cybersecurity experts to assess the investigation’s progress. He reiterated that the Karnataka CEO’s office is committed to offering any additional support, information, or documents required by the investigative agency.
Despite these assurances, several letters from the CID to the CEO post-September 2023 clearly acknowledge the receipt of ECI data but explicitly state that the vital ‘destination IPs and destination ports were missing.’
Copies of these letters, obtained by The Hindu, reveal the CID’s consistent plea: “During the course of the investigation, the IP logs are provided. On perusal, the destination IP and destination port are missing. Therefore, it is requested to direct the concerned to provide the same.”
CID sources indicate that the IP addresses supplied by the ECI are dynamic, making precise geolocation of devices challenging. This is why the CID has been emphasizing the need for ‘destination ports and destination IPs,’ which are static and crucial for accurately tracking the devices involved in submitting the fraudulent applications. The ECI, however, has yet to respond to any of these urgent requests.
The CEO’s statement detailed that the Election Returning Officer in Aland processed 6,018 online Form 7 applications in December 2022, submitted via platforms like NVSP, VHA, and GARUDA. The sheer volume prompted suspicion regarding the legitimacy of these voter deletion requests, leading to a thorough verification of each application.
Contrasting with this, the FIR lodged at Aland Police Station on February 21, 2023, a copy of which The Hindu possesses, presents an alternative narrative. It quotes the Election Returning Officer (ERO), the complainant, stating that former MLA B. R. Patil had alerted the ECI about the illegal deletion of 6,670 votes across 256 booths in the Aland Assembly constituency, prompting directives from both the ECI and the Deputy Commissioner of Kalaburagi district for the ERO to investigate.
The CEO concluded by explaining that after thorough verification by Election Returning Officers (EROs), Assistant EROs (AEROs), and Booth-Level Officers, a mere 24 applications were deemed legitimate. The vast majority—5,994 applications—were found to be incorrect, leading to their rejection and ensuring the affected voter names were not deleted.