A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing voter list irregularities in Karnataka's Aland seat has uncovered a racket where data operators were allegedly paid ₹ 80 per fraudulent voter deletion submitted to the Election Commission ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls. Investigators found that 6,018 bogus applications were filed between December 2022 and February 2023 — amounting to a total payout of around ₹ 4.8 lakh, a report said.

The Aland case was one of the examples cited by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi under his "vote chori" (vote theft) allegations. Last week, the SIT raided properties linked to BJP leader Subhash Guttedar, who lost the 2023 election to Congress's BR Patil.

A verification drive by election officials revealed that only 24 of the 6,018 names flagged for deletion wer

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