An FIR has been lodged against C. Sivashankar, the BJP District Office Secretary, at the TB Dam Police Station in Hospet (Vijayanagar) over the alleged theft of a document containing sensitive information on polling booths. The document, pertaining to ultra-sensitive polling booths in the Vijayanagar district, was reported stolen from an office desk.
Reportedly, the information on polling booths for five assembly constituencies was sent by the district police chief to the district administration via email. The document was then printed out and left on a desk for verification and signature by superiors. Allegations suggest that Sivashankar unlawfully entered the office, stole the document, created a PDF using his mobile phone, and disseminated it to fellow party workers.
The incident came to light when Sivashankar forwarded the information from his mobile phone on April 17. The FIR was filed on April 19 following discussions with higher authorities.
In response, the BJP district unit president, Channabasavanagowda Patil, expressed intention for legal action, stating that the leaked documents were not highly classified. He emphasized the responsibility of the district administration to safeguard important files and suggested that staff at the district collector’s office should also be scrutinized, insinuating possible negligence leading to the incident.
