Less than two hours after TNM’s joint investigation with Kannada website Pratidvani into the massive data voters’ data theft in Bengaluru was published, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) issued a statement asking the general public to not share voter identity details with the NGO under scrutiny, Chilume Educational Cultural and Rural Development Trust. TNM had exposed how field workers of the private organisation, posing as government officials, had been covertly gathering personal details of voters. BBMP Commissioner Tushar Girinath had told TNM that the NGO was not authorised to collect data and their mandate was only to spread awareness about voting across 28 constituencies in Bengaluru.
The public statement issued in the name by the District Electoral Officer-Bangalore and Chief Commissioner says that in view of Special Summary Revision – 2023 activities, “a permission had been granted to M/s. Chilume Educational Cultural and Rural Development Trust for conducting the House to House visit to create awareness among the general public towards applying online applications via Voter Helpline Mobile App pertaining to Voter ID”. The Special Summary Revision – 2023 refers to the exercise of revision of electoral rolls ahead of elections.
The BBMP has further said that the exercise was to be conducted along with BLOs, Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers of District Election Officer in Bengaluru. “However, the above said trust has violated the conditions of the permission. Therefore, the permission has been withdrawn with immediate effect. Hence, we hereby appeal the general public not to share their voter id details to the representatives of the trust,” the statement added.
After TNM published the investigation, voters from Jaya Nagar in the city contacted us saying that people with BLO cards had approached them too.
Though the BBMP has cancelled the permission granted to Chilume, the data already collected has not been handed over to the corporation. Moreover, Chilume had employed hundreds of young workers, offering them Rs 15,000 for field work a month. It is not unclear where the funds for such an operation came from.