Chhattisgarh CM Baghel asked Election Commission to conduct checks on CRPF vehicles ahead of polls
Raipur, Nov 2: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday urged the Election Commission of India to check the vehicles and luggage of paramilitary forces being deployed in the state for election duty, alleging that the BJP was bringing in cash through them so that it could be used to influence voters.
Talking to reporters at a helipad in Police Lines here, Baghel alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can stoop to any level to acquire power.
"Enforcement Directorate's senior officers have been visiting Chhattisgarh, but their vehicles are not checked as they are government officials. Common travellers are being checked. We are checked while travelling by helicopters and vehicles. CPRF brought big boxes in a plane but they were not checked. The ED can come for its investigation, but I want to tell the Election Commission that the vehicles of the central investigative agency should be checked," Baghel said.
"BJP has accepted its defeat (in the polls) and this is their last move that they are bringing money in boxes which will be used to influence the voters. Therefore, all vehicles should be checked, especially of ED and CRPF," he said.
When the CRPF is already deployed in the state, what is the need of bringing additional forces from outside, he asked.
"It means the boxes which are being brought may contain notes (cash) or other items too, so these should be checked," he added.
Asked whether the paramilitary force will be misused during the elections, Baghel said, "It is absolutely possible. They can go to any level to gain power...This is a very serious issue and the Election Commission should take its cognisance. However, a complaint will be lodged by our party."
The CRPF personnel arrived here yesterday in a special plane. The airport authorities did not check their vehicles because they were on government duty, he said.
"When CCTV cameras have been installed everywhere and everyone is being checked, then why are they not being checked? Wherever they are going, their vehicles should be checked," he added.
Elections to the 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly will be held in two phases on November 7 and 17.
Twenty seats falling in seven districts of Maoist-hit Bastar division and Rajnandgaon, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Kabirdham and Khairagarh- Chhuikhadan-Gandai districts will witness voting in the first phase while remaining 70 segments in the second phase.
Paramilitary forces are deployed in elections in Naxalite-hit and other areas for smooth conduct of polls.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Actress sexual assault: Court says Prosecution 'miserably' failed to prove conspiracy against Dileep
Kochi (PTI): The prosecution had "miserably" failed to prove the conspiracy charge against Dileep in the sensational 2017 actress sexual assault case, a local court has observed while citing inconsistencies and lack of sufficient evidence against the Malayalam star.
The full judgement of Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Court Judge Honey M Varghese was released late on Friday, and has revealed the judge also pointing out at unsustainable arguments put forth by the prosecution.
"The prosecution miserably failed to prove the conspiracy between accused No.1 (Pulsar Suni) and accused No.8 (Dileep) in executing the offence against the victim," the court held.
It examined in detail, the prosecution's allegation that Dileep had hired the prime accused to sexually assault the survivor and record visuals, including close-up footage of a gold ring she was wearing, to establish her identity.
On page 1130 of the judgment, under paragraph 703, the court framed the issue as whether the prosecution's contention that NS Sunil (Pulsar Suni) recorded visuals of the gold ring worn by the victim at the time of the occurrence, so as to clearly disclose her identity, was sustainable.
The prosecution contended Dileep and Suni had planned the recording so that the actress' identity would be unmistakable, with the video of the gold ring intended to convince Dileep that the visuals were genuine.
However, the court noted that this contention was not stated in the first charge sheet and was introduced only in the second one.
As part of this claim, a gold ring was seized after the victim produced it before the police.
The court observed that multiple statements of the victim were recorded from February 18, 2017, following the incident, and that she first raised allegations against Dileep only on June 3, 2017.
Even on that day, nothing was mentioned about filming of the ring as claimed by the prosecution, the court said.
The prosecution failed to explain why the victim did not disclose this fact at the earliest available opportunities.
It further noted that although the victim had viewed the sexual assault visuals twice, she did not mention any specific recording of the gold ring on those occasions, which remained unexplained.
The court also examined the approvers' statements.
One approver told the magistrate that Dileep had instructed Pulsar Suni to record the victim's wedding ring.
The court observed that no such wedding ring was available with her at that time.
During the trial, the approver changed his version, the court said.
The Special Public Prosecutor put a leading question to the approver on whether Dileep had instructed the recording of the ring, after which he deposed that the instruction was to record it to prove the victim's identity.
The court observed that the approver changed his account to corroborate the victim's evidence.
When the same question was put to another approver, he repeated the claim during the trial but admitted he had never stated this fact before the investigating officer.
The court noted that the second approver even went to the extent of claiming Dileep had instructed the execution of the crime as the victim's engagement was over.
This showed that the evidence of the second approver regarding the shooting of the ring was untrue, as her engagement had taken place after the crime.
The court further observed that the visuals themselves clearly revealed the victim's identity and that there was no need to capture images of the ring to establish identity.
In paragraph 887, the court examined the alleged motive behind the crime and noted that in the first charge sheet, the prosecution had claimed that accused persons 1 to 6 had kidnapped the victim with the common intention of capturing nude visuals to extort money by threatening to circulate them and there was no mention about Dileep's role in it.
The court also rejected the prosecution's claim that the accused had been planning the assault on Dileep's instructions since 2013, noting that the allegation was not supported by reliable evidence.
It similarly ruled out the claim that Suni attempted to sexually assault the victim in Goa in January 2017, stating that witness statements showed no such misconduct when he served as the driver of the vehicle used by the actress there.
The court also discussed various controversies that followed Dileep's arrest and the evidence relied upon by the prosecution, ultimately finding that the case had not been proved.
Pronouning its verdict on the sensational case on December 8, the court acquitted Dileep and three others.
Later, the court sentenced six accused, including the prime accused Suni, to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment.
The assault on the multilingual actress, after the accused allegedly forced their way into her car and held it under their control for two hours on February 17, 2017, had shocked Kerala.
Pulsar Suni sexually assaulted the actress and video recorded the act with the help of the other convicted persons in the moving car.
