Hyderabad, Oct 7: Election authorities in Telangana have intensified investigation into false Form-7 applications seeking deletion of voters from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), even as Hyderabad Police have booked a booth-level agent (BLA) of the BJP for allegedly submitting 30 pre-printed Form-7 applications.

S. Balachander, a Booth Level Agent (BLA) of the BJP in Musheerabad constituency in Hyderabad, has been booked for submitting pre-printed Form-7 applications seeking deletion of voters from the electoral roll at a polling station.

A case under Sections 217 and 318(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, has been registered against him at Chikkadpally Police Station.

This followed a complaint lodged by T. Praveen Kumar, Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of the Musheerabad Assembly constituency.

The ERO complained that Balachander brought 30 digitally pre-printed Form-7 applications to Polling Station No. 210 on September 28. The applications sought the deletion of the names of 30 electors, including a Congress BLA and his family members, from the electoral roll.

Balachander, who had signed the forms, tried to submit them to the Booth Level Officer (BLO) at the polling station. When the BLO refused to receive the bulk submission and did not issue any acknowledgement for the 30 forms, Balachander left the forms at the polling station premises before the BLO and left the place.

After the verification, election authorities found that all 30 electors whose names were mentioned in the Form-7 applications were residing at the respective premises recorded in the electoral records.

This was the first case filed in Telangana after Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharsan Reddy, on October 5, ordered action against applicants who knowingly made false statements of declaration in Forms 6, 6A, 7 & 8 under provisions of Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The CEO had asked DEOs to conduct an inquiry under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, before taking the action.

Similar pre-printed forms had surfaced in the Bahadurpura and Goshamahal constituencies in Hyderabad. All the names mentioned in the forms were Muslims, leading to allegations about a deliberate attempt to target the community.

After Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) lodged a complaint, the CEO issued an order to the Commissioner of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, the District Election Officer, Hyderabad and all collectors and DEOs of districts across the state to “take appropriate action” against individuals found knowingly filing false claims or declarations in electoral-roll forms.

Election authorities across Telangana have received 28,753 Form-7 applications, including around 5,000 from Hyderabad.

TPCC electoral office had filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, seeking FIRs over alleged misuse of Form 7s.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Tuesday complained to the Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana, Sudharsan Reddy, regarding the misuse of Form 7 for the targeted deletion of Muslim voters in the Goshamahal Assembly constituency.

In a letter to the CEO, AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi complained that at polling station number 28, one Thudumu Janardhan submitted 122 Form 7 applications. In these forms, the names of the voters against whom deletion is sought are pre-printed, while the applicant has written his own name and contact number as the person filing the Form 7, he said.

Owaisi alleged that there is a deep conspiracy to delete Muslim voters through fraudulent and bulk submission of Form 7 applications.

The Claims and Objections phase of the SIR process will end on October 7, and the deadline for disposal is November 5. Final electoral rolls will be published on November 9, 2026.

New Delhi, Oct 6: The Anti-Narcotics Squad of Delhi Police’s South District has seized 265 kg of illegal and banned firecrackers and arrested a 39-year-old man for storing and selling them during the festive season.

Acting on specific information regarding the illegal sale and storage of firecrackers, the police team conducted a raid in Madangir on October 5 and recovered a substantial quantity of firecrackers from the premises.

The accused was identified as Vipin Garg, a resident of Neb Sarai, Delhi. He was apprehended from the spot and arrested in connection with the case.

According to the police, the Anti-Narcotics Squad had been maintaining close surveillance over the illegal sale, storage and use of banned firecrackers in the national capital and had been taking strict action against violators.

Following the receipt of the information, the police team verified the input and conducted a raid at the identified premises. During the operation, Garg was found in possession of a large quantity of firecrackers intended for discreet sale during the festive season.

A total of 265 kg of illegal firecrackers was recovered and taken into police possession. A case under relevant sections was registered at Ambedkar Nagar Police Station, following which the accused was arrested.

The operation was conducted by a dedicated police team and was led by Inspector Anuj Chaudhary, under the close supervision of ACP/Operations Balram Beniwal.

The police said further investigation is underway.

The recovery of the banned firecrackers is expected to prevent their illegal sale and potential use during the festive season. Delhi Police said the action reaffirms its commitment to public safety and strict enforcement against the illegal storage and sale of banned firecrackers.

Chennai, Oct 6: Nearly four out of five trucks registered to transport construction minerals in Tamil Nadu remain without GPS tracking devices, prompting another extension of the installation deadline despite a Madras High Court order aimed at tightening monitoring of mineral movement.

Only 30,000 of the 1.4 lakh trucks registered on the Mineral Management System (MIMAS) portal had vehicle location-tracking devices as of September 30. The remaining 79 per cent are yet to comply with the requirement to cover vehicles carrying M-sand, P-sand and other construction aggregates.

The Geology and Mining Department has now extended the deadline to October 31, following representations from transport associations seeking additional time. The original March 31 deadline had already been extended, while the government had separately announced that vehicles without GPS devices would stop receiving mineral transit passes from September 1.

Linking vehicle trackers to MIMAS is intended to strengthen oversight of mineral transportation by recording where trucks load material and tracking their movement. Such records could help authorities identify supplies originating from unauthorised quarries and investigate illegal extraction and transport violations.

However, the slow rollout has drawn criticism from lorry owners, who have questioned the government’s commitment to enforcing the system. G. Ganesh, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu State Lorry Owners Federation, said the cost of tracking devices had fallen sharply, from Rs 15,000 to Rs 3,700.

He said several vendors could supply more than one lakh devices meeting the AIS-140 standard, arguing that availability should not justify further delays.

The government’s reluctance to implement the requirement raised questions about its resolve to curb illegal mining, he said.

Department officials, however, said the approximately 37 authorised suppliers lacked sufficient stocks to equip all remaining vehicles within a short period.

An official said the latest extension followed requests from several associations. Officials also said action was being taken against people generating fraudulent mineral transit passes with fake QR codes.

A dedicated number for complaints about quarrying violations would soon be introduced and linked to the department’s control room in Chennai.

The enforcement challenge comes amid a substantial gap between construction demand and authorised quarry output.

Official estimates put Tamil Nadu’s average daily requirement for construction aggregates at around 5.25 lakh units, compared with permitted quarry production of only 1.2 lakh units, highlighting the need for closer regulatory scrutiny.