AHMEDABAD: Vijay Bhabhor, the son of a BJP leader and party member, reportedly took control of a polling booth in Dahod, Gujarat, and live streamed the incident on social media before deleting it. Allegations suggest that he verbally abused officials and participated in alleged bogus voting with others.
In the viral video, the accused claims ownership of the EVM and other equipment, stating that they belong to his father.
An FIR has been filed against two individuals, Vijay Bhabhor and Magan Damor, based on a complaint lodged by Santrampur Mamlatdar I.P. Pathan, Mahisagar ASP V.P. Bheda told TNIE.
"The charges include IPC Section 128, 121, 122, 131/B, 171/D, and 135. Both the accused have been detained," Bheda said.
“Presently, we're probing the involvement of the presiding officer in the incident. If his complicity is established, appropriate action will be taken against him as well," he added.
The police official stated that Bhabhor arrived at the polling booth to vote at 5:49 pm and departed by 5:54 pm. During this brief period, he reportedly streamed live on Instagram and allegedly engaged in bogus voting by casting votes for two other individuals.
After the incident, Dahod's Congress candidate, Dr. Prabhaben Taviad, filed a complaint against Vijay Bhabhor with the district collector and the district election officer.
The Congress party has urged the Election Commission to take action in response to the incident. Following the incident's escalation, the Tehsildar of the relevant area has also filed an FIR. Mahisagar District Collector Neha Kumari has initiated an investigation into the matter.
Congress spokesperson Dr. Manish Doshi questioned if ordinary citizens would be allowed to commit such crimes without consequence.
"It is a very serious matter.. Why has the police failed to act against the BJP leader's son?” he asked.
Doshi urged the Election Commission to arrange a re-vote at the booth.
The incident was reported from booth number 220 Parthampur, which falls within the Santrampur assembly constituency of Mahisagar district, which is part of the Dahod Lok Sabha constituency. Kuber Sinh Dindor currently serves as the MLA from this constituency and holds the position of Education Minister in the state government.