The government lifted the suspensions and transferred IAS officers S Rangappa, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner (Administration), and K Srinivas, Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner, in relation to the voter data theft case in Shivajinagar, Mahadevapura and Chickpet zones. Rangappa has been posted as Executive Director of State Minerals Corporation Limited in Bengaluru, and Srinivas has been posted as Managing Director of Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation Limited, The New Indian Express reported.
According to senior government officials who spoke to TNIE, the administrative decision to revoke the suspension of the two officials was based on the documents presented to the court. The police investigation will continue in the case.
The suspension orders came following the publication of TNM’s joint investigation with the Kannada outlet Pratidvani. TNM had reported that a private NGO named Chilume had been gathering private voter information by going door to door. Prior to the state Assembly elections, BBMP had only granted the NGO authorisation to conduct election awareness campaigns about the updating of electoral rolls. However, TNM discovered that the order was misused and fake ID cards were issued to field workers who identified themselves as Booth Level Officers from the BBMP.
Additionally, Chilume also ran a privately held business named Chilume Enterprises that specialised in election and event management. On its now-defunct website, the business claimed to provide political parties with "Electronic Voting Machine and counting hall preparation, CCTV installation, webcasting and check-post preparation." The Bengaluru police arrested Krishnappa Ravikumar on November 20, the director of the Chilume Educational Cultural and Rural Development Institute.