Five Nepalese nationals detected during SIR in Davangere district; details forwarded to EC for necessary action

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According to the Deputy Commissioner, notices had been issued to 7,086 voters who had not furnished the required documents during the verification process.

Five Nepalese nationals have been detected during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Davangere district.

Addressing reporters here on Monday, Deputy Commissioner G.M. Gangadharaswamy said that the details of the five persons had been forwarded to the Election Commission, the Superintendent of Police and the Home Department for necessary action.

He said the SIR exercise was progressing as per the directions of the Election Commission. Notices had been issued to 7,086 voters who had not furnished the required documents during the verification process. About 50% of the cases had been disposed of, with verification completed in respect of 5,461 voters.

The district has 12,98,219 voters across 1,808 polling stations, according to the draft electoral rolls. All 7,086 notices issued during the verification exercise had been served on the voters concerned, the Deputy Commissioner said.

He expressed confidence that 90% of the verification process would be completed within a week.

Mr. Gangadharaswamy said only 18 names had been rejected after the publication of the rolls, including 15 names of the deceased.

He said the Election Commission had provided flexibility for voters who were abroad, seriously ill or elderly persons. Their family members could appear for verification and submit the necessary documents on their behalf. “There is no question of deleting the name of any eligible voter without following the prescribed procedure,” he said.

Responding to reports of political party representatives seeking deletion of thousands of names in the Davangere North and South Assembly constituencies, he said officials did not have the authority to delete voters’ names on their own.

Names could be removed after verification in cases such as death or duplication. If a voter had shifted residence, deletion could not be initiated suo motu by officials, and a request through Form 7 was required, he said.

The Deputy Commissioner said eligible graduates could still enrol in the electoral roll for the South-East Graduates’ Constituency.

The number of voters from Davangere district in the constituency had increased from 24,281 in the draft rolls to 29,739, while 401 applications were awaiting verification.

As voter registration was a continuous process, eligible graduates should submit their applications and enrol themselves as voters, Mr. Gangadharaswamy said.