The DEO has ordered an inquiry into the fake death declarations in Vijayapur

K. Anand, Deputy Commissioner and District Electoral Officer (DEO), Vijayapura, ordered an inquiry into allegations that some dissidents in the city had created fake death certificates to seek deletion of the names of some voters as part of a systematic intensive revision of electoral rolls.

This is according to a memorandum submitted by at least eight people who appeared before the District Election Office in Vijayapur on Saturday (October 3, 2026). They said they were declared dead in Form 7 by some opponents in the city who used forged documents.

Allama Bagwan, a teacher at a government school, was shocked to find that someone had filed a third-party objection in Form 7 saying she had died. The Booth Level Officer (BLO) informed her that an application had been made that she was no more.

“The BLO is a colleague from a government school. He visited my house and collected details from me. He assured me that my name will not be removed from the list. But I was shocked to find that someone managed to get the death certificate that I am dead,” she told officials.

Similarly, Abdul Razak Bagwan, Malanbi Jamadar, Mumtaj Mulla and four others were shocked to learn that documents showing them as dead had been submitted to get their names deleted from the electoral roll.

This was flagged by Congress leaders who went door-to-door to find out if there were discrepancies between the existing procedures and the current SIR exercise. They found that some followers of Mr Yatnal, the expelled BJP MLA, had objected to the inclusion of these names after they attached fake death certificates of at least eight people to requests to delete them.

“They also found that the certificates were issued by competent authorities but lacked details. In several cases, the names of parents or spouses did not match the names of the victims. This is a clear case where Mr. Yatnal and other Hindutva leaders were trying to target Muslim voters. We demand a comprehensive investigation and legal action against those responsible,” Congress 2024 (Oc) leader Abdul Hamid Mushrif told reporters.

He alleged that attempts were made to remove about 1,046 voters belonging to the minority community from electoral rolls in 198 polling stations of Bijapur municipal district by falsely claiming that they had died.

Mr. Mushrif said documents claiming that some voters had died were submitted on Mr. Yatnal’s letterhead. “We were always suspicious of him because he always claimed that Muslims were involved in fake voting. However, local verification by Congress Booth Level Agents (BLA) revealed that these voters are alive. We are also trying to investigate these fake certificates. Who issued these certificates without any inquiry and at whose request?” he said.

He noted that making a false statement can be a crime under the law. He said the authenticity of the death certificates and other documents submitted must be verified and if the use of wrong documents or false information is confirmed, action should be taken against those affected under election laws and other applicable laws.

Published – 04 Oct 2026 17:11 IST