Kolkata, Sept 06: Television actor Payal Chakraborty has been found hanging in a hotel room in Siliguri, north Bengal, under mysterious circumstances, police said. Chakraborty, a resident of South Kolkata, had appeared in multiple TV soaps and web series. "Payal was found hanging from the ceiling of her hotel room Wednesday morning. She had checked into the hotel the evening before," Siliguri police commissioner DCP Gourab Lal said.

The police have also found out that the 38-year-old actor, who recently separated from her husband, is survived by a two-year-old son, Lal said. "Prime facie, it looks like a case of suicide, but the police are not ruling out other possibilities. The body has been sent to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem," the DCP added.

Arun Deb, an employee at the hotel, said the actor had told the staff members Tuesday night that she would be leaving for Gangtok the next day. "Chakraborty, after checking in, had categorically told the hotel officials that she did not want to be disturbed in her room. She had locked the room from inside and did not order dinner," he said.

The following morning when there was no response from her despite repeated knocks on the door, the hotel contacted the police, Deb added.

The actor's family members, who arrived here Thursday afternoon, said they were not aware of the reasons behind her Siliguri visit. "Payal told us she would be going to Ranchi. I am not sure what was she doing in Siliguri," her father Prabir Guha said.

Courtesy: www.news18.com

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Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.

The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.

In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.

The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.

Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.

Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.

The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."

Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.

In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.

The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.