E-Paper
Baroda bypoll: History-sheeter Ramesh Lohar accompanies BJP nominee Yogeshwar Dutt during campaign
Lohar, the notorious gangster with a history of criminal cases against him, had boarded an open jeep with Dutt, wrestler-turned BJP leader Babita Phogat and six others while canvassing.
The BJP candidate for the November 3 Baroda bypoll, Yogeshwar Dutt, was accompanied by history-sheeter Ramesh Lohar during campaigning at Mirzapur Kheri village, nearly 15km from sub-district headquarters Gohana on Wednesday evening.
Lohar, the notorious gangster with a history of criminal cases against him, had boarded an open jeep with Dutt, wrestler-turned BJP leader Babita Phogat and six others while canvassing.
Lohar and former minister of state for cooperatives Manish Grover were booked by the Shivaji Nagar police station in Rohtak for alleged booth capturing at a polling station during the 2019 general elections. Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had also written a letter to the chief election commissioner seeking appropriate action against the duo for allegedly intimidating the voters in Rohtak.
The police had recovered 15 rounds of 0.32 bore, wooden sticks and registration number plates of vehicles from Lohar’s SUV during checking outside the booth after which he was arrested.
Yogeshwar Dutt said he has no idea when Lohar boarded his jeep and denied any links with him. “This can be a conspiracy of the Congress to send that man to board my open jeep to tarnish my image,” he added.
Cong accuses BJP of ‘shielding criminals’
Accusing the ruling BJP of ‘shielding criminals’, Congress MLA from Rohtak BB Batra said the notorious criminal Ramesh Lohar was seen with former minister Manish Grover and other senior leaders earlier too.
“Lohar’s presence with Yogeshwar Dutt has once again proved that he has strong links with BJP leaders. He was arrested for booth capturing last year. Is the BJP trying to attempt the same bid during the Baroda bypoll? It is not the first time that Lohar has shared the stage with BJP leaders. The saffron party has been protecting him,” Batra said.
