Fresh controversy has erupted in Karnataka’s Haveri district as crucial primary data from the 2015 socio-economic and education survey—popularly referred to as the caste census—has reportedly gone missing. Not only is the original Kantharaj Commission report untraceable, but now the raw responses signed by families have also vanished.

These responses, initially stored in the tahsildar’s office and later compiled by the Backward Classes Welfare Department (BCM) in coordination with education and revenue departments, are believed to have remained untouched for over a year. During this period, several documents reportedly deteriorated or disappeared, including entire sections of social and economic data from taluk offices.

An official involved in the process admitted: “When we began consolidating the responses, we found major gaps. We alerted senior authorities, but received no further directions.”

BCM district officer V.S. Hiremath said he wasn’t in a position of authority when the data handling occurred and declined to comment further on the missing records from eight years ago.

The issue has ignited political tensions, with BJP and JD(S) attacking the Siddaramaiah government for relying on a revised sample-based report in the absence of original data. Former BJP Haveri president Siddaraj Kalkoti demanded the revised report be scrapped, citing the unreliability of missing foundational data.

This development further deepens the mystery around the disappearance of Karnataka’s original caste census, sparking questions over data integrity, storage practices, and political accountability.