Bengaluru, October 31, 2025 – In a dramatic escalation of the long-simmering "vote chori" (vote theft) controversy in Karnataka's Aland constituency, the state's Special Investigation Team (SIT) has presented CCTV footage from the home of former BJP MLA Subhash Guttedar as irrefutable proof of an attempt to incinerate voter lists ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections. The footage, recovered during recent raids, allegedly captures Guttedar's associates burning documents outside his residence in a bid to destroy evidence, marking a pivotal breakthrough in the probe into the alleged deletion of over 6,000 voter names.
The revelations came to light during a high-stakes hearing at a special court in Kalaburagi on Thursday, where Guttedar, his son Harsha Guttedar, and associate contractor Tipperudra sought anticipatory bail. The government prosecutor vehemently opposed the pleas, submitting the CCTV evidence and a forensically analyzed Digital Video Recorder (DVR) from Guttedar's home as key exhibits. "The DVR from the residence of the petitioner has been recovered and sent for forensic analysis. A mirror image of the DVR, retrieved under due process, has revealed the burning of materials," the prosecutor told the court, underscoring the gravity of the tampering attempt.
Roots of the Allegations: A Plot to Rig the 2023 Polls
The "vote chori" saga traces back to February 2023, when irregularities in the Aland voter rolls first surfaced. Congress candidate B.R. Patil, who ultimately clinched the seat by a margin of 10,348 votes against Guttedar, lodged a complaint with the Election Commission's returning officer. Local party workers had flagged suspicious deletion requests for 6,018 names across 254 polling booths—requests submitted remotely from a data center in Kalaburagi, with operatives allegedly paid Rs 80 per fake deletion. Ground verification by election officials revealed only 24 of these requests were legitimate; in most cases, neither the purported applicants nor the targeted voters were aware of the filings, pointing to a systematic forgery under IPC sections for impersonation, false information, and forgery.
The case languished for over two years amid delays in obtaining digital records from the Election Commission, prompting the Karnataka government to form an SIT on September 26, 2025. The team, led by a senior police officer, zeroed in on Guttedar—a four-time MLA from Aland and a prominent BJP figure—after linking him to the deletions through call records and financial trails. Searches in the third week of October targeted properties owned by Guttedar, his sons Harsha (a zilla panchayat member) and Santhosh, and Tipperudra, yielding the incriminating DVR.
The scandal gained national attention last month when senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spotlighted Aland during a press conference, branding it a textbook case of "vote chori" orchestrated to undermine democracy. "You are robbing the republic itself. This is a serious issue," Gandhi had declared, amplifying calls for swift justice.
Courtroom Drama: Bail Pleas in Jeopardy
Thursday's proceedings at the special court turned contentious as the SIT laid bare the CCTV details. The footage, timestamped just before the October raids, purportedly shows Guttedar's aides piling and igniting documents in an open yard adjacent to his Aland home—materials the SIT claims were printed voter lists targeted for elimination to favor BJP prospects in the 2023 polls. Forensic experts are cross-verifying the burned remnants for traces of electoral data.
Observing that the invoked IPC sections are bailable offenses, the court nonetheless grilled the SIT on the probe's protracted timeline since the February 2023 FIR. The prosecutor attributed delays to bureaucratic hurdles in securing Election Commission data from voter apps and portals, a explanation that left the bench skeptical. In a procedural win for investigators, the judge adjourned the hearing and mandated the submission of the full case diary by next week, effectively stalling the bail applications.
Denials and Political Ripples
Guttedar, speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, dismissed the allegations as politically motivated. "They did not get anything… They alleged that we burnt documents. In everybody’s house there is a cleaning process for Deepavali and the same has happened at my house. It is trash that was burnt," he insisted, portraying the incident as routine festival tidying rather than evidence destruction. BJP state leaders echoed his defense, accusing the Congress-led government of weaponizing the SIT to settle electoral scores ahead of local body polls.
Congress circles, however, hailed the footage as vindication. Aland MLA B.R. Patil urged the Election Commission to expand the probe, warning of similar manipulations in other constituencies. "This isn't just about one seat; it's a pattern that threatens every voter's voice," Patil said in a statement.
As the SIT awaits Election Commission responses and forensic reports, the Aland case continues to simmer, casting a shadow over Karnataka's electoral integrity. With the court set to reconvene soon, all eyes are on whether Guttedar and his co-petitioners will secure bail—or face formal charges in what could become a landmark battle against voter fraud.
This report is based on court proceedings and official statements as of October 31, 2025.
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