Subhash Guttedar | Photo credit:
A special court in Bengaluru on Friday granted anticipatory bail to former BJP MLA Subhash Guttedar and his son Harsha Guttedar in connection with the alleged case of “voter theft” in Aland Assembly constituency in Kalaburagi district, which is being investigated by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Criminal Investigation Department.
They should be released on bail if they are arrested by the SIT as they have furnished a personal bond of ₹1,000 each with one surety of like amount, on the condition that they should appear before the investigating officer within 10 days from today and cooperate in the investigation, said Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, special court judge and former criminal MLA.
The court also ordered them not to threaten or manipulate prosecution witnesses, not to leave the country without the written permission of the court, to provide proof of their whereabouts and address to the investigating officer, and not to threaten or manipulate prosecution witnesses.
The former MLA and his son knocked on the court’s door after the SIT raided their premises in Kalaburagi district and seized the CCTV recording system. The SIT also claimed before the court that an investigation was underway against them, claiming that forensic analysis of the seized digital data indicated an attempt to burn certain papers, possibly the voter list.
The complaint alleges that 5,994 voter names in the constituency were illegally deleted prior to the 2023 election using forged voter deletion forms.
Published – 31 Oct 2025 21:38 IST
