Karnataka government orders probe against BBMP chief
According to officials privy to the developments, the probe was ordered on the direction of chief minister Siddaramaiah, following which chief secretary Vandita Sharma wrote a letter to the Karnataka chief electoral Officer on August 14, seeking a probe in the matter
Bengaluru

The state government has ordered a probe against Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner Tushar Giri Nath in the alleged voter data theft case involving NGO, Chilume Educational Cultural and Rural Development Trust, officials said on Tuesday.
According to officials privy to the developments, the probe was ordered on the direction of chief minister Siddaramaiah, following which chief secretary Vandita Sharma wrote a letter to the Karnataka chief electoral Officer on August 14, seeking a probe in the matter.
In a letter dated May 19 to the chief minister, former MLC and Congress leader Ramesh Babu, had accused Girinath of allowing the NGO named Chilume to collect personal details of voters. The letter also accused the BBMP commissioner, who is also the district election officer, of dereliction of duty and demanded a high-level probe.
“Mr. Tushar Girinath, IAS is working as chief commissioner of Bangalore Metropolitan Corporation. He is accused of allowing several irregularities during his tenure of office. As an election officer of the Bengaluru Corporation, he is accused of committing illegal acts by allowing a private organization by name Chilume to collect the private details of the voters. He is alleged to have allowed an illegal ‘A’ khata account under BBMP during his tenure,” Babu stated in the letter dated 19 May.
“The new state government will have to conduct a special inquiry against BBMP chief commissioner Girinath on allegations made during his tenure. The report given by the Investigating Officer regarding Chilume Organization voters list is incomplete. No attempt has been made to expose his mistakes. Other officials were beheaded for his protection. Girinath said that he will take action against other officials in connection with ‘A’ khata to cover up his irregularities. He has made this kind of statement to avoid serious charges against him,” Babu said.
The Congress leader urged the state government to form a special investigation team to probe the irregularities by Chilume, in the voter list. “I request the state government to take necessary steps to investigate the irregularities in the voter list. In the interest of the public, it is necessary to investigate the allegations of scams of the Bangalore Corporation (BBMP) during his tenure.”
The BBMP had entrusted Chilume with the task of conducting house-to-house surveys to create awareness on revision of the electoral rolls. The firm, however, allegedly collected personal details, including caste, education, mother tongue, Aadhaar and other details, people aware of the matter said.
On November 18 last year, the head of the NGO, Krishnappa Ravikumar, was arrested along with other employees, including the NGO director Renuka Prasad, HR executive Dharmesh and project executive Prajwal. On November 27, four BBMP officials were arrested on the charges of providing fake ID cards to representatives of NGO Chilume. Two IAS officers were also suspended in connection with the case.
Meanwhile, in April this year, the investigation into the alleged voter data theft by Chilume had ruled out any electoral fraud or manipulation of electoral roll in the three constituencies — Shivajinagar, Chikpete and Mahadevapura — where the data was collected.
However, in his final report submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for Karnataka Manoj Kumar Meena, Bengaluru, regional commissioner Amlan Adithya Biswas found that NGO Chilume gathered voter data using an unauthorised digital application called ‘Digital Sameeksha’ and stored it on a foreign server, creating opportunities for wrongful gain from personal data.
The 49-page report also revealed that the BBMP had engaged the services of the private trust for a voter awareness exercise in RR Nagar though no election was taking place.
“I have been following the case since November last year, urging the election commission and the state government to take action against the BBMP commissioner. The district returning officer is solely responsible for the Chilume incident. But the action was taken against lower rank IAS officers. Being the DRO of the BBMP, he is the sole responsible person and action should be taken against him,” Babu told HT.
