Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP/RJP)
Bengaluru, May 11: “Election Commission of India (ECI) will decide if polls in Rajarajeshwarinagar (RR Nagar) should be countermanded following the seizure of nearly 10,000 epic cards,” Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar said on Thursday, May 11.
Kumar said Deputy Election Commissioner Chandra Bhushan - appointed by the ECI to probe the case -has already left for Delhi with the details he collected and will brief the poll panel. He added the final call on the constituency will be taken anytime soon.
Kumar said Bhushan reached the flat immediately and collected all the necessary details.
Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar
State election officials and political parties are eagerly watching the ECI for its decision whether to countermand the polls or ban Congress candidate Munirathna.
The electoral officer said the 9,896 voters whose IDs were found in the flat have been cleared to vote. In the absence of EPIC cards, they can carry other documents like Adhaar, PAN, post office passbook, nationalised bank passbook, passport and voters ID slip.
"There are too many cards to verify. So far, we have verified 800 epic cards, all of which are 100% genuine," Kumar said.
Meanwhile, based on complaint filed by electoral officials relating to recovery of voter identity cards, first information report (FIR) was registered in Jalahalli police station against 14 persons including current Congress MLA of the constituency, Muniratna.
The FIR names Sadin Momeen, Chinnathambi, Ponyamma, Chinnadorai, Lakshmammma, Rashmi, Lalithamma, Sharada, Sharavana, Rekha in whose name the flat is rented out, flat owner, Manjula Nanjamari, Nataraj Krihnappa, Manjunath and Congress candidate, Muniratna Naidu.
Electoral officer of the city area, Maheshwar Rao, said that the accused have been charged with offences under sections 120B, 171E, 171F, 188 and 34 of Indian Penal Code, section 123, 125, and 127 of Representation of Peoples Act which relates to criminal purpose, offering lure, influencing voters during election, violating government order, offering bribe to voters, influencing them, creating enmity between two groups, and publishing of pamphlets without the names and addresses of printers and publishers.
Jalahalli police reportedly found during the questioning that the voter IDs were pooled together for offering gifts to people who vote for the party. The cards were collected from voters to whom gifts were already given, by offering further gifts. The target group happens to be innocent people living in slums. Just before the election, they were to be handed gifts and voters’ slips with instructions to vote for a particular party.
The people, whose voter IDs were found, are being questioned by the police. Those who were interviewed so far said that party workers had offered lure of gifts to them and that if they were aware that they could be booked for offence, they would not have done so.
In the meantime, Muniratna said that he has nothing to do with the recovery of voter IDs. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday May 10, he termed this as a conspiracy involving BJP and JD(S) parties. He said that the flat where the cards were found belongs to Manjula Nanjamuri from BJP. He claimed that the people to whom Nanjamuri claims she has rented out the flat, have said they have nothing do with this flat. He said that his name has been added in the 'FIR just because of pamphlets, he used for campaigning. were found in the said flat.