AAP moves HC over deferment of Chandigarh mayoral polls
Chandigarh, Jan 18: The AAP Thursday moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court after the Chandigarh mayoral polls were abruptly postponed with councillors being told that the presiding officer had fallen ill. The administration told the court the elections have been deferred to February 6.
The Congress and the AAP, which have joined hands for the mayoral polls, slammed the BJP, accusing it of not allowing to hold the elections in the wake of its "imminent defeat".
The petition was filed by AAP councillor Kuldeep Kumar, who is the candidate for mayor post. The petitioner sought from the court for holding the mayoral polls and appointment of a new presiding officer in place of Anil Masih after he fell sick.
The court refused to grant any immediate relief to the AAP and fixed January 23 as the next date of hearing in the matter.
The matter was listed before the division bench of Justices Sudhir Singh and Harsh Bunger, said Chetan Mittal, the counsel for the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.
During the hearing Thursday evening, the counsel for the Chandigarh administration informed the high court that February 6 has been fixed as the next date for the mayoral polls after assessing the prevailing law and order situation.
Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal also claimed that they have been informed that elections will not take place on Thursday as the presiding officer has fallen sick.
"It has been informed that elections will not take place today as the presiding officer has fallen sick," claimed Bansal as he accused the BJP of not allowing the polls to take place as the saffron party was to face defeat in the elections.
The polling for the post of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor through secret ballot was to take place at 11 am in the assembly hall of the municipal corporation.
In the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, the BJP has 14 councillors. It also has an ex-officio member MP (Kirron Kher) who has voting rights.
The AAP has 13 councillors and the Congress seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor in the House.
Elections for the three posts are held every year during the five-year term of the House. This year, the mayor's seat has been reserved for the Scheduled Caste category. This time the mayor will be elected for the third term.
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Man arrested in Hyderabad for impersonating police officer using AI videos
Hyderabad (PTI): A 27-year-old man was arrested in Hyderabad for allegedly impersonating a police official and uploading fabricated videos on social media platforms to gain followers, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, who worked as a delivery executive with a food delivery aggregator, created and circulated misleading videos using AI-based software.
He falsely depicted himself as a police official and showcased weapons, potentially causing panic and misleading the public, a release from Hyderabad Police said.
Police said it came to their notice that fake videos were being circulated on social media, showing individuals posing as police personnel and displaying weapons.
Upon preliminary inquiry, it was found that the videos were fabricated using AI software and did not represent any real police activity.
The accused unlawfully impersonated a police official and created deceptive digital content, which is a punishable offence under relevant provisions of law.
Such acts can erode public trust and create unnecessary alarm, the release said.
Acting on credible information, police teams apprehended the accused and seized a mobile phone used in the offence.
A case under relevant sections of the BNS and the IT Act, 2000, was registered at Kalapathar Police Station.
Further investigation is underway to determine whether any other persons were involved in the creation and dissemination of such content, police added.
