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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UP: Teen girl found hanging from tree; locals claim rape, murder
Pratapgarh (UP) (PTI): The body of a 19-year-old woman was found hanging from a tree in a village under the Manikpur police station area here on Sunday morning, police said.
According to the police, the woman had gone to sleep after dinner on Saturday night but was found hanging in an orchard nearly 400 metres away from her home the following morning.
Additional Superintendent of Police (West), Brijnandan Rai, stated that the circumstances suggest foul play.
"The victim's slippers and undergarments were recovered 50 metres away from the spot where the body was found. There are visible injury marks on her body," Rai said.
While locals have alleged that the woman was murdered after being raped, the ASP said that it is "prima facie a case of murder."
"Based on the complaint filed by the victim's brother, a case of murder has been registered against unidentified persons. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination," the officer added.
Police further clarified that if the medical report confirms sexual assault, relevant sections will be added to the FIR.
Forensic experts and police teams have collected evidence from the spot and are investigating the matter from all angles.
