Bihar bypoll: Every 5th voter of polling booth has father of same name
Muzaffarpur (Bihar) (PTI): In a comedy of errors, almost every fifth voter of a polling booth in a Bihar legislative council constituency, where a by-election was held on Thursday, has the father of the same name.
Officials conceded that it was an "anomaly" in the electoral roll which would, however, not affect the poll process for the Tirhut Graduates constituency, where 18 candidates are in the fray.
The voters, numbering slightly over 1.5 lakh, are spread across 197 booths in the districts of Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali and Sheohar.
The anomaly has come to light in the Aurai block of Muzaffarpur, where at one polling booth, "Munna Kumar" has been stated as the father's name for 138 out of 724 voters, Tirhut Divisional Commissioner Sarvanan M said.
"None of the voters would be deprived of their right to franchise because of the anomaly which seems to have been caused by some technical factors. Upon the completion of the by-election process, we will take necessary action," the commissioner told PTI over phone.
A multi-cornered contest was witnessed in the by-poll necessitated by the resignation of senior JD(U) leader Devesh Chandra Thakur, who is now the Sitamarhi MP.
Many of the candidates seem vexed at the comedy of errors.
"It is bizarre. So many voters, men and women of all age groups and of various religious affiliations, have the same name as the father," said Abhishek Jha, the JD(U)'s nominee in the by-poll.
Independent candidate Banshi Dhar Brijwasi alleged, "I had flagged the discrepancy before the authorities in time but no action was taken. The voters are worried".
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Family of injured driver in murder of Suvendu's aide seeks exemplary punishment
Kolkata (PTI): The family of Buddhabeb Bera, the driver injured in the shooting that killed BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's close aide Chandranath Rath, demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible and urged the new government to ensure such incidents do not happen in West Bengal.
Rath was shot dead in Madhyamgram near Kolkata on Wednesday night, triggering a political storm in the state. Bera, who was driving the vehicle at the time of the attack, sustained gunshot wounds and is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Family members said they learned about the incident through television and immediately left for Kolkata.
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"We came to know from TV reports that my nephew had been shot. We still do not know who carried out the attack or why it happened," Buddhabeb's uncle Biswajit Bera said.
"Our only wish now is that he recovers and returns home safely," he added.
Buddhabeb, 25, hails from Majnaberia village in the Chandipur police station area in Purba Medinipur district.
According to family members, he mostly stays in Kolkata for work and visits home occasionally during weekends.
Besides his parents, his younger brother, sister-in-law and several relatives have also travelled to Kolkata following the incident.
Demanding strict action against the perpetrators, the uncle said, "We want the government to conduct a proper investigation and identify those directly involved in the crime. They should be given exemplary punishment so that such incidents do not happen again in West Bengal and no other family has to go through this grief."
A neighbour, Ranjana Ghorai, also sought stringent punishment for those behind the attack.
"In our neighbourhood, we call him Sona. We want exemplary punishment for the people responsible for this incident," she said.
Rath's family members have demanded life imprisonment for the accused, while Adhikari has called for capital punishment for those involved in the killing.
