West Bengal man held for 'Vote Chori'

Bengaluru, Nov 14 (PTI) The CID probing the vote theft allegations in Aland segment in 2023 assembly polls has arrested a man from West Bengal's Nadia district, sources in the department said on Friday.

The 27-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday and brought to Bengaluru.

The CID has taken him in its custody for interrogation.

He had applied for the deletion of many votes in Aland constituency, sources said.

According to Aland Congress MLA B R Patil, most of the requests were made to delete minority and backward caste votes.

After learning about the irregular requests for the deletion of voters' names following a complaint lodged by Minister Priyank Kharge and Patil, the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer ordered a status quo.

Patil won the elections with a margin of about 10,000 votes.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi held a press conference on September 18 highlighting the 'Vote Chori' (vote theft) allegation and slammed the Election Commission of shielding the accused by not inquiring into the matter.

According to the CID sources, the accused, Bapi Adya from Nadia, was arrested following a money trail linking to his bank account. PTI GMS KH