Haryana minister, ex-MLA booked

Sunit Dhawan
Tribune News Service
Rohtak, May 15

The police have registered an FIR against Haryana Minister of State for Cooperatives Manish Grover and former Congress MLA from Rohtak Bharat Bhushan Batra under Section 188 of the IPC (disobedience to order promulgated by public servant) and Section 131 of Representation of People Act (disorderly conduct in or near polling stations). 

  JS Randhawa, Rohtak SP, said an FIR against Grover, Batra and others has been registered on the basis of a complaint of the Assistant Returning Officer (62-Rohtak). Section 506 of the IPC has been included in the FIR on the basis of a complaint by District Bar Association chief Lokender Singh Phogat, he added.

Those named have been charged with entering polling booth 145 at Bhartiya Kanya School during polling on May 12 without permission and disorderly conduct.

Meanwhile, a local court has dismissed the bail application of Ramesh Lohar, a history-sheeter who reportedly accompanied Grover at a polling station on May 12 and was booked under Sections 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act and Sections 188, 34, 420 and 483 of the IPC.

Seven persons, including Lohar, were arrested yesterday and produced before the court today. The bail petitions of six accused were accepted by the court, while Lohar’s bail petition was dismissed and he has been sent to jail under judicial custody.

The election agent of Deepender Singh Hooda, the Congress nominee for the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat, had alleged that Grover, along with a number of musclemen, had entered the polling booth and intimidated the voters.

Congress general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad has also written to the Election Commission of India (ECI), seeking stringent action regarding the matter.

On the other hand, Grover maintained that he had gone to the booth after he received information that Batra, Phogat, one Balraj alias Balley and several others had entered the booth without permission and were intimidating the voters.