Voter data ‘theft’: Civic officials allege political pressure; police shift probe focus to financial transactions

Police have recovered a large cache of documents from the trust’s offices and kingpin Krishnappa Ravikumar’s residence, which are now being analysed to identify the politicians who may have funded these operations

Police are now investigating the financial transactions of the Chilume Educational Cultural and Rural Development Trust, accused of voter data theft, in an attempt to identify the beneficiaries of the crime, suspected to be prominent politicians.

Meanwhile, civic officials now in the dock, suspended and arrested, are crying foul alleging that they were under pressure from political masters to favour the trust, and were now being made scapegoats.

City police, who have till date arrested 11 persons, including the founder trustees, employees of the trust and revenue officials, who allegedly facilitated data theft, are now focusing on the financial transactions of the trust.

“The stolen voter data would have eventually benefitted some politicians. We are trying to follow the money trail to identify them,” a senior police official said.

The trust hired over 500 employees on short-term contracts and paid them salaries regularly, which is a huge financial transaction. Police have recovered a large cache of documents from the trust’s offices and kingpin Krishnappa Ravikumar’s residence, which are now being analysed to identify the politicians who may have funded these operations.

A senior police official said revenue officials now in the dock were found to have been taking orders from the trust’s founder Krishnappa Ravikumar, indicating the kind of influence he wielded in the civic body, “not possible without the backing of those in power”.

Meanwhile, civic officials, especially revenue officials across the city, are crying foul. “We have been suffering in this case due to political interference and that led to data theft. Without the intervention of political masters, such orders wouldn’t have been issued for the trust. And now the blame is on officials, this is not right,” a senior BBMP official told The Hindu, on condition of anonymity.