Lucknow: Police arrested a man, son of a BJP leader, in Uttar Pradesh's Etah district following the surfacing of a video on Sunday which showed that he voted multiple times in the Lok Sabha polls, IANS reported.
Rajan Singh's father, Anil Singh, is the gram pradhan of Khiri Pamaran and is a member of the BJP.
An official statement said that the arrested man was a resident of the Kghiriya Pamaran village and was identified as Rajan Singh, who voted in the Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency. An FIR has been registered against the man in connection with the case, Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa said in a statement.
"The person appearing to be voting multiple times in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh, son of Anil Singh, resident of village Khiriya Pamaran and has been arrested by the police," Uttar Pradesh the official wrote in a post on X.
The CEO said, "Instructions to suspend and institute disciplinary proceedings against all members of the polling party have been issued. Repolling has been recommended to the Election Commission of India in the polling station concerned."
He added that he had issued strict instructions to all the District Election Officers in Uttar Pradesh for the remaining phases of the elections to strictly follow the procedures for proper identification of the voters.
A case has been filed against Rajan Singh under Sections 171F (undue influence or personation at an election) and 419 (punishment for cheating by personation) of the Indian Penal Code. The police have also invoked Sections 128 (maintaining secrecy of vote), 132 (Penalty for misconduct at the polling station) and 136 (electoral offence) of the Representation of People Act.
The 5thphase of elections is going on Monday.
Earlier controversy has arisen after a video surfaced online allegedly showing a minor boy casting a vote during the Lok Sabha elections in Berasia, Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal.
The District Collector, Kaushalendra Vikram Singh, has initiated an investigation into the matter and assured that action will be taken against those involved.
The video depicts a minor boy, purportedly the son of Vinay Mehar, a BJP panchayat leader, accompanied by his father into the polling booth during voting. In the video, the boy is seen pressing a button on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) while Mehar captures the act.
Questions have been raised regarding the presence of a mobile phone in the polling booth and the allowance of the child to accompany his father during the voting process.