CCTV Footage Spurs Probe Into Karnataka SC Household Survey

Karnataka’s door-to-door survey of Scheduled Caste households is under investigation after CCTV footage from Bengaluru appeared to show enumerators pasting "survey completed" stickers on residences without speaking to occupants. The exercise, begun on 5 May to gather data on 101 SC sub-castes, is intended to guide internal-reservation policy. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party labelled the operation “bogus”, citing instances of stickers being affixed even to homes belonging to non-SC families. BJP spokespersons said the apparent short-cuts undermine the credibility of the data and called for a halt to what they termed a wasteful exercise. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah acknowledged procedural lapses but urged residents to use an online portal if their homes were missed, insisting all households would ultimately be covered. The controversy revives memories of the ₹165-crore caste census completed in 2015 whose findings were never released, adding pressure on the state to assure the integrity of the current count.