Kaithal: Man objects to ‘unsealed’ ballot boxes, booked

Kaithal, May 20

A case has been registered at the Sadar police station in Kaithal against Satbir Goyat for allegedly questioning the “fairness” of postal ballots. He was charged with obstructing the duty of poll officials at government work in Kutabpur village, where the team had gone to facilitate voting at home through postal ballot papers for differently abled people and people above 85 years of age.

He has been booked under Sections 171-F, 186 of the IPC, and Sections 131, 132 of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951 and 1988.

As per information, on May 17, a polling party reached the village where the accused had objected to the election process, claiming that the team had not sealed the postal ballot boxes. He said even the envelopes in which the votes were cast had not been sealed, which raised the possibility of theft/tampering of votes.

“The accused recorded a video of the process even as the voter did not express any objection,” said Sushil Kumar, SDM-cum-Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) for Kaithal Assembly segment. He alleged that the accused incited other people against the administration and the election process, hindering government work. After this incident, villagers refused to allow the polling party to let the remaining two votes be cast in this manner. They threatened to beat up the polling party, forcing the team to leave the village.

He claimed that the privacy of voting was being maintained and the process was being videographed.

On the other hand, AAP senior state-vice president Anurag Dhanda accused the administration of not working fairly. He said, “We and the public think that we are contesting the elections against the BJP, but now it seems that we are contesting the elections against the Election Commission,” said Dhanda.

“Perhaps, for the first time in the history of elections, an FIR has been lodged by the Election Commission against a person who was trying to expose the shortcomings of the Election Commission,” he said. “Earlier, when we applied for a permission for a rally, it was denied with abusive language. Why is this happening again and again in Kaithal? We have filed a complaint on this issue,” he said, questioning why the postal ballot box was not sealed.