By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Nainital, 16 Aug: Acting on complaints filed by Congress leaders and others, an FIR has been filed against 11 persons including the BJP District President in Nainital. It may be recalled that there was a major uproar over the election of the Zila Panchayat President and Vice President in Uttarakhand’s Nainital district on 14 August. Both, the BJP and Congress, had accused each other of kidnapping Zila Panchayat members. A new update in the matter is that the police have now registered a case against 11 named persons including the BJP District President, and also against 15 to 20 unknown persons.
It may be recalled that the election for the Nainital Zila Panchayat President and Vice President was held on 14 August and was marred by a huge ruckus. The BJP and Congress had accused each other of abducting their party-supported Zila Panchayat members. Due to this, five members were unable to cast their votes.
The Congress had approached the Uttarakhand High Court on the same day. The High Court heard the matter and following the High Court’s strict stance, the police has initiated action, and now four separate cases have been registered in this matter by the aggrieved party.
According to information available, the Congress Zila Panchayat President candidate from Nainital, Pushpa Negi, member Zishant Kumar, and the relatives of two other members have filed a complaint with the police. Based on these complaints, the police have named 11 people, including BJP District President Pratap Bisht and Anand Darmwal, husband of BJP’s Zila Panchayat President candidate from Nainital, Deepa Darmwal. Along with them, 15 to 20 unknown people have also been charged.
Providing information, Nainital SSP Prahlad Narayan Meena said that a case has been registered against Anand Darmwal, Shankar Koranga, Pratap Bisht Bora, Pramod Bora, Prakhar Sah, BB Bhakuni, Vishal Negi, Pankaj Negi, Shubham Darmwal, and Komal Darmwal, along with 10 to 15 unknown persons, under sections 191(2), 140(3), 115(2), 352, 351(3), 74, and 62 of the BNS.
It may also be recalled that on 14 August, senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Yashpal Arya had alleged that he and the Congress MLA from Haldwani, Sumit Hridyesh, were assaulted by certain people. The Congress workers had created a huge ruckus over the issue. The Congress accused the BJP of murdering democracy.
On the day of the Zila Panchayat President and Vice President elections on 14 August, there was a huge commotion in the city. Five Zila Panchayat members, Diker Singh Mewadi, Pramod Singh, Tarun Kumar Sharma, Deep Singh Bisht, and Vipin Singh, were allegedly kidnapped by some people in the presence of the police just a short distance from the polling station. This incident raised questions about the election process. The Congress accused the BJP workers of open hooliganism and kidnapping opposition members. At the same time, BJP also levelled similar allegations against the Congress leaders.
After a lot of commotion, the State Election Commission completed the counting process late on the night of 14 August after the voting, but the Election Commission did not declare the result of the Nainital Zila Panchayat President election. Nainital District Magistrate Vandana Singh said that the election results for the Nainital Zila Panchayat President and Vice President have been kept in a locker inside a sealed envelope. All the candidates have also been informed about this. The case will be heard in the Nainital High Court on 18 August, and only then will the sealed envelope of the election results be presented to the High Court. Further action will be taken only after the order of the Nainital High Court.
