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Police question BJP’s Hamirpur candidate Ashish Sharma
Shimla police on Saturday questioned the former Independent MLA and BJP candidate for assembly byelections in Hamirpur, Ashish Sharma, in a case related to “conspiracy to destabilise” chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s government.
The Shimla police on Saturday questioned the former Independent MLA and BJP candidate for assembly byelections in Hamirpur, Ashish Sharma, in a case related to “conspiracy to destabilise” chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s government.
He was summoned to the Boileauganj police station for questioning. The Himachal Pradesh Police had registered a case against an Independent MLA and the father of a Congress rebel over “electoral offenses” related to the recent Rajya Sabha polls in which six party MLAs voted for the BJP candidate from the state.
The development came after the Sukhu-led Congress government plunged into a political crisis after the Rajya Sabha seat in the state. On March 10, police registered a case under sections 171 A and C (undue influence on elections) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 7 and 8 (public servant taking undue advantage) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Ashish Sharma and former Uttarakhand chief secretary Rakesh Sharma, father of Congress’ Garget MLA (now disqualified ) Chaitanya Sharma, who lost the byelections from Gagret.
The case was registered at the Boileauganj police station on a complaint filed by Manali MLA Bhubaneswar Gaur, chief parliamentary secretary, and Arki legislator Sanjay Awasthi. Awasthi and Gaur are close associates of chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Ashish was questioned for more than two hours. He was asked questions related to arrangements made for the lodging of the Congress rebels along with six Independent MLAs.
Ashish appeared before police for the third time today. However, he was also called on June 13 and 18, but he did not come then. In the same case, four days ago, former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar’s campaign adviser Tarun Bhandari also appeared before the Shimla police.
”I had honestly replied to all the queries posed to me by the sleuths at the police station. I further requested the police to call me after the elections are over,” said Ashish.
