Bengaluru, Oct. 5 -- The controversy surrounding the alleged misuse of Form 7 applications during Karnataka's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has escalated, with police registering five first information reports (FIRs) in different parts of the state over attempts to delete names of minority voters.

The complaints have raised questions about whether bulk applications were submitted using incorrect details, forged signatures or without the consent of the persons named in the forms.

The cases have been registered in Belagavi, Bidar and Mysuru. Complaints alleged that large numbers of voters were shown as having shifted from their addresses or being unavailable, even though they continued to reside at the same locations...