Ahead of trust vote, Block Samiti member abducted

Shiv Kumar Sharma
Tribune News Service
Yamunanagar, January 17

A member of the Bilaspur Block Samiti was allegedly kidnapped by some persons near Bilaspur town on Thursday evening in a bid to stall a no-trust vote against the chairman.

Rekha Devi alleged that her husband Rajinder Kumar was kidnapped as he and other members of the Block Samiti were to vote in support of a no-confidence motion moved against chairman Mahipal Singh on Friday. On her complaint, a case was registered against Abhishek, Bablu, Yashpal, Mange Ram and Harpal under Sections 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 341 (wrongful restraint), 365 (kidnap) and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of IPC at the Bilaspur police station on Thursday.

Narrating the incident, Rekha Devi said she, her husband Rajinder Kumar and another Block Samiti member Satish Kumar were on their way to Bilaspur from Sadhaura on Thursday when their car was hit by another car from behind near Ajijpur village. When they got out of the car after the accident, occupants of the other vehicle started manhandling them and also tore their clothes. “They bundled my husband and put him into their car and drove away,” Rekha Devi alleged.

He said that 18 of the 26 members of the Bilaspur Block Samiti had moved an application for a no-confidence motion against Chairman Mahipal Singh. Additional Deputy Commissioner KK Bhadoo had fixed Friday for voting. It is learnt that voting could not take place due to Rajinder Kumar’s kidnapping.

Denying the allegations, Mahipal Singh said neither he nor any member of his family had anything to do with Rajinder Kumar’s kidnapping. “I have the required majority. I don’t need to kidnap a member to get the no-confidence motion against me failed,” he said.