Former Minister and Congress candidate from Daltonganj, KN tripathy, was today detained by district administration and his licensed pistol was seized after he flaunted his pistol at a polling booth in Chainpur area of Palamu on Saturday.
The incident took place at Kusiyara Upgraded Middle School and under Chainpur Police Station where the flaunting of the licensed pistol by Tripathi stirred a major law and order issue. The Congress candidate has been accused of intimidating supporters of the BJP candidate Alok Chourasia.
Palamu, SP, Ajay Linda said the licensed weapon of Tripathi has been seized. Police are investigating the case quite professionally and impartially. He said Tripathi has stated that he was mobbed and the crowd chased him and hooted him when his bodyguards too were with him.
Linda said there had come two complaints one from Tripathy and the other from the BJP and police are sincerely investigating both these complaints.
However, it is the pistol that gets the attention much. Tripathy is cornered for taking it down to the booth and then flaunting it. No weapon can be carried down to the booth either by the voter or the candidate read ECI’s strict guidelines.
An official said disarming Tripathi at the booth would have gone as a strictness of administration but it lost this chance to get in bad light over this weapon in possession of the candidate in the premise of the booth.
State Chief Electoral Officer V K Choubey on being contacted said a report to this effect has been sought from DC and SP Palamu but declined to make any elaboration on it.
BJP’s State organising secretary Manoj Kumar Singh said Tripathy did a major violation when he took his weapon in the booth and intimidated the supporters of the BJP candidate.
He added that Tripathi has this dubious distinction of creating ugly scenes every election, like in 2009 he did a similar thing with then Inder Singh Namdhari and in 2014 with him.
Tripathi, on the other hand, said, “I was visiting booths. There had come complaints of poll rigging at this Kusiyara booth. I reached there and wanted to see things for myself in the booth where very belligerent and aggressive supporters of the BJP candidate prevented me from going inside and I was abused, heckled, elbowed and there was even a bid on my life when two of my cars were attacked and damaged by the mob of the supporters.” He said he had to scurry for his life as otherwise any harm could have come to him then.
The Congress leader alleged the Palamu administration dancing to the tune of the BJP candidate got booths rigged by the BJP men most blatantly.
He said he had sent his complaint to the Election Commission of India for stern action against the partisan officials here.
Tripathi alleged he was wrongfully confined and detained on the day of voting by the administration for two hours thereby helping the BJP to have its own free ride. On why he had this weapon in his hand, Tripathi said his life was in great danger as there was the attempt on his life.