Rangia: Six people, including four polling officials, arrested for allegedly influencing voters at a booth in Jalukbari assembly segment under Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency on 24 April, were sent to jail on Sunday. Rangia sub-divisional judicial magistrate Konkirani Deka, rejecting their bail petition, sent the six to judicial custody after their arrest on Saturday under sections 120(B)/409/406/448 the Indian Penal Code (IPC) read with sections 171-F/132/135-A/134 IPC.
The six include a presiding officer in polling station No. 35 at Bornijora LP School, Paresh Hajarika, and polling officials Rakhal Chandra Choudhury, Abhoy Nath Bezbarua and Rupam Malakar, besides village defence party (VDP) volunteer Bimal Boro and videographer Vidyut Saikia. A police case was filed against the six at the Baihata police station after a local news channel telecast footage of the polling station on April 24 showing a person wearing a VDP identity card repeatedly pressing the electronic voting machine (EVM) button for voters or asking them to “vote here” for a particular candidate. The video also showed that neither the polling officials nor polling agents of other contestants protested the VDP volunteer’s moves. The Election Commission ordered a re-poll at the polling station on Sunday.
