Bogus voting: Cops go soft, book unknown persons

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 21

The Patiala Police are under the scanner for giving the clean chit to Congress supporters who were purportedly seen polling bogus votes in a booth at Bakshiwal on Wednesday. Video clips of the incident have gone viral.

The police have registered an FIR against unknown persons, even as the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is asking why the names of Congressmen have been omitted.

On Wednesday evening, Cabinet minister Brahm Mohindra had claimed that his personal assistant (PA), Bahadar Khan, and the husband of a Congress councillor in his constituency were not involved in bogus voting.

Akali leaders claim that the minister’s PA and the councillor’s husband walked inside the polling booth in full public view and “captured” it. As per the FIR registered on the complaint of Iminder Singh, presiding officer at Bakshiwal during the zila parishad poll, “Unknown persons barged into the polling booth” and after “threatening poll officials” they started polling bogus votes. An FIR under Sections 353 and 186 of the IPC and sections of the Representation of the People Act has been registered.

“When we identified the minister’s PA, Bahadar Khan covered his face but continued to cast bogus votes. He had no authority to enter the polling booth. Strict action should be taken against the erring police officers,” said ex-minister Surjit Singh Rakhra.

“When our leaders locked the booth and waited for the police, a team led by SP (Headquarters) Harwinder Virk reached the spot and ‘rescued’ the Congress workers,” said Rakhra.

Virk claimed that when he reached the spot, he saw the councillor’s husband and others escape as soon as the door was opened. “The SHO will include names in the FIR as per evidence received during the investigations,” he said.

On Wednesday, Mohindra had demanded repoll at Bakshiwal. It was conducted on Friday.

VIDEO CLIPS GO VIRAL

• Congress supporters were purportedly seen polling bogus votes at a booth in Bakshiwal on Wednesday. Video clips of the incident have gone viral.
• The SAD is asking why the names of Congressmen have not been included in the FIR. 
• Akalis allege that Cabinet minister Brahm Mohindra’s PA and a councillor’s husband walked inside the booth in full public view and “captured” it.