Two persons have been arrested for allegedly assaulting a government official who was in the process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bengaluru's Devarajeevanahalli (DJ Halli) area, police said. The incident took place on Thursday afternoon, and the DJ Halli Police filed a criminal case and conducted an investigation.
The persons arrested were identified as Yarab and Dastagir, who attacked a government official during the election-related verification work in the locality. According to police, the incident took place around 1:30 pm near Kausar Masjid in Roshan Nagar, where officials had visited to carry out field verification as part of the ongoing SIR process. The survey team was conducting door-to-door verification and interacting with residents to update electoral records.
The situation turned tense when one of the accused, Dastagir, approached the survey team and asked for an SIR form to be handed over to him, officials said. The accused and officials got into an argument over the issue, they said.
The accused allegedly assaulted Fakirappa, a Superintendent with the Slum Development Board, who was stationed in the area to carry out the SIR exercise. Fakirappa suffered minor injuries to his face and eyes after being attacked by the accused, police said.
Investigators further claimed that Yarab was in Dastagir’s presence during the fight and assisted in the assault. Following the complaint, DJ Halli Police registered a case and quickly arrested both accused.
The injured official received medical attention and his condition is said to be stable. Police are interviewing witnesses and other officials at the scene as to what took place.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is an important election-related exercise to verify and update voter records so electoral rolls are accurate and up to date. Both government officials and field staff have been deployed in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka to carry out house-to-house verification.
Any obstruction or assault on public servants performing official duties is a serious offence under the law. Police officials said they would take very strict legal action against anyone who is found to interfere with government work.
The incident has raised concerns about the safety of field officials engaged in public service activities. Residents need to participate in the SIR verification procedure in order to ensure smooth completion of the electoral revision exercise, officials said.
All evidence is being investigated, and police are looking at witness accounts and CCTV footage from the area to see if there are any other people involved,” said an officer.
