District police have registered a case against sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Sardhana assembly of Meerut Sangeet Som, who is again in the fray from the seat, for allegedly slapping a presiding officer at a polling booth in Salawa village during polling for the first phase of 2022 UP elections on Thursday.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP), Meerut, Prabhakar Choudhary said a case had been registered against Som and his supporters at Sardhana police station in connection with the incident. The SSP said although the presiding officer refused to file a complaint against Som, police registered a case in this regard after gathering evidence and speaking to eyewitnesses. “We are probing the case and appropriate action would be initiated on its basis,” said Choudhary.
Some locals of the village had alleged that the presiding officer was not allowing women to cast their votes without showing their faces. It led to an altercation between the presiding officer and villagers. The matter was reported to BJP candidate Sangeet Som who arrived at the booth and allegedly slapped the officer.
Enraged over the incident, the polling staff at the booth demanded security and the matter was reported to senior officials. On being informed, Meerut district magistrate K Balaji and SSP Prabhakar Choudhary reached the spot and enquired about the incident. The presiding officer refused to lodge a complaint and eventually police registered a case late on Thursday night.
{{/usCountry}}Enraged over the incident, the polling staff at the booth demanded security and the matter was reported to senior officials. On being informed, Meerut district magistrate K Balaji and SSP Prabhakar Choudhary reached the spot and enquired about the incident. The presiding officer refused to lodge a complaint and eventually police registered a case late on Thursday night.
{{/usCountry}}The SSP, however, said a dalit voter’s complaint that he was prevented from exercising his franchise at a polling booth of Salawa village was found to be baseless. “We investigated the charges and found them baseless,” he said.