Srinagar/New Delhi, May 4
A case of intimidating voters and trespassing during the second phase of Parliamentary elections in Jammu and Kashmir was today registered against PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, who is a candidate for the Anantnag constituency, following an Election Commission directive.
The case was registered at Ram Munshi Bagh police station, which holds jurisdiction over Burn Hall School polling station where Mehbooba had allegedly unveiled a voter, Inspector General of Police K. Rajendra Kumar told PTI.
After a full Commission meeting earlier in the day the EC had asked the authorities concerned to register an FIR against Mehbooba under Section 171(C) of IPC for intimidating voters.
EC spokesman
A. N. Jha said there were complaints from the state alleging that Ms Mufti had gone to a polling station and intimidated voters and pulled the veil from the face of a voter.
Mr Jha said the commission had also received a report from the authorities.
The National Conference had filed a complaint with the election authorities after Ms Mufti had gone inside a polling booth at the Burn Hall school and lifted veil of a woman.
In its complaint, the party had alleged that Ms Mufti had abused her power by storming the polling booth along with her security guards and threatening the voters.
After lodging the complaint with the state election office, the NC had threatened to boycott the subsequent phases of the poll if the EC failed to take note of their complaint.
The state election commission had conducted an enquiry into the incident and submitted its report to the EC.
“The law will take its course if the Election Commission feels that action should be taken against me for exposing a bogus voter,” ruling PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said today reacting to the EC’s order to file an FIR against her for “intimidating” a voter.
The PDP chief said her action during the second round of polling for the Srinagar Parliamentary constituency on April 26 was taken in the capacity of a responsible citizen.
“As a responsible citizen, I challenged the woman as she had already made two futile attempts to cast her vote at Burn Hall polling station in Sonawar,” she said. —
PTI
