FIR against MLA for creating false death certificates of voters

Vijayapura police have registered an FIR against Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, MLA, on the charge of creating false death certificates of voters in a bid to exclude them from the voting list in Vijayapura Assembly constituency in Karnataka. Mr. Yatnal was expelled by the BJP in March 2025.

Officers of the Jala Nagar police station registered an FIR based on a complaint by Abdul Razak Bagwan, a vegetable vendor.

Mr Bagwan has alleged that Mr Yatnal, MLA and Booth level agent of Bijapur assembly constituency, had falsely claimed that he had died and that his name needed to be struck off the electoral rolls under the Systematic intensive revision exercise. Mr Yatnal had managed to obtain false Mr Bagwan ‘s death certificate through unfair means, he alleged.

The complainant also told the police that he knew of at least seven other persons who, Mr Yatnal had falsely claimed had died , and obtained false death certificates for all of them, as part of a conspiracy to delete their names by submitting form 7 against their inclusion.

This follows a press meet in Bengaluru on October 7 by members of Vijayapura district unit of Mata Kavalu Samiti where persons who were passed off as deceased were presented before mediapersons.

The victims had submitted a memorandum to the DC and DEO of Vijayapura a week ago.

Activist Prakash Raj had raised this issue at a rally in Vijayapura a few days ago.