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Three candidates from Bathinda, Ferozepur facing criminal cases
All three candidates -- Jeetmohinder Singh Sidhu of the Congress, Gurmeet Singh Khudian of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Nardev Singh Bobby Mann of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), are contesting for the first time and none of them have been convicted by the court.
Three candidates from different political parties who filed their nomination papers from Bathinda and Ferozepur Lok Sabha constituencies on Friday have pending criminal cases against them.
All three candidates -- Jeetmohinder Singh Sidhu of the Congress, Gurmeet Singh Khudian of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Nardev Singh Bobby Mann of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), are contesting for the first time and none of them have been convicted by the court.
The scrutiny of affidavits revealed that Sidhu, a four-time legislator, who has been fielded by the grand old party from the Bathinda constituency, has been booked in two criminal cases in Kurukshetra of Haryana and another at Talwandi Sabo, a town in his political turf Bathinda.
Sidhu’s submission before the Election Commission states that a case of attempt-to-murder and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against him at Talwandi Sabo in May 2019. The sworn affidavit states that after investigation, the police filed a cancellation report and the matter is pending before the sub-divisional court.
Another case registered in Kurukshetra’s Shahabad Markanda, pertains to theft and crimination intimidation. The matter is still being probed by the Haryana police.
AAP’s Bathinda nominee Gurmeet Singh Khudian was booked in a clash during the election in January 2003 on his hometurf Lambi, Muktsar. Khudian, who is also a state agriculture minister, is facing a case under Arms Act and Section 336 (endangering the life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code. No challan has been put up by the police and the court is yet to decide the crime.
Khudian and Sidhu will contest against incumbent Bathinda MP Harsimrat Badal and BJP’s Parampal Kaur Sidhu, who are yet to file their papers.
Shiromani Akali Dal’s Ferozepur nominee, Nardev Singh Bobby Mann, 49, is accused in a case of criminal breach of trust that was registered in Muktsar in 2015. His case is pending in the court of Muktsar chief judicial magistrate. His election affidavit says that the Mann family possesses a total of five licensed weapons. Mann has a .12 bore double barrel gun, pistol and a rifle, his wife has a license for a gun and a .32 bore revolver. He is the younger son of the late Zora Singh Mann, who won the Ferozepur Lok Sabha seat thrice in 1998, 1999 and 2004.
