Congress MLA, BJP leader booked for taking kin inside polling booths on voting day in M.P.

The action came after complaints were lodged with the Election Commission

Published - May 13, 2024 04:17 am IST - Bhopal

Congress MLA from Bhopal Central Arif Masood and former State Minister and BJP leader Kamal Patel have been booked for allegedly taking their relatives inside polling booths while casting votes on May 7, the police said on Sunday.

The action came after complaints were lodged with the Election Commission. The two leaders or their kin had allegedly uploaded on social media, videos showing them inside the polling booths, police said.

Such complaints come to the district returning officers, who after going through those and finding them fit, forward them to the police for action, an EC official said on Sunday.

While Mr. Masood voted in the Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency, Mr. Patel cast his ballot in the Betul seat in the third phase of general election on May 7.

The Shahjanabad Police have registered a case against Mr. Masood under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 188 (deliberate disobedience of an order that is duly promulgated by a public servant empowered by law to do so) and other counts, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Nitin Upadhyay.

He said the use of mobile phones in a prescribed area of the polling booth was forbidden. Besides, more than one person is not allowed to enter the area where the vote is cast, the official said.

In Harda district, the City Kotwali Police registered a case against BJP’s former MLA Patel for a similar violation, police inspector A.R. Khan said. Besides IPC Section 188, he has also been booked under the Representation of the People Act, police said.

A video showing him with his grandson inside a polling station has come to light, the official said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.