I'm not stupid to distribute money in opponent's hotel: BJP leader Tawde
Mumbai (PTI): BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde on Wednesday dismissed the allegations of distributing money to influence voters, saying he was well aware of the rules and not foolish to indulge in such an activity at the hotel of political opponents.
Hours before the assembly polls, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) leader Hitendra Thakur on Tuesday accused Tawde of distributing Rs 5 crore at a hotel in Virar, 60 km from Mumbai, to woo voters.
Amid claims by BVA leaders that Rs 5 crore cash was distributed, an election official on Tuesday said Rs 9.93 lakh cash was recovered from the hotel rooms.
The BJP leader has denied the allegation, saying he was only providing guidance to party workers on poll procedures.
"The Vivanta Hotel (at Virar in Palghar) is owned by the Thakurs. I am not stupid to go to their hotel and distribute money there," Tawde told reporters here.
The BJP leader said he was in politics for 40 years and was aware of the rules and regulations, particularly the 'silence period' before elections.
"I was having a casual chat with party workers. I was not campaigning," Tawde said.
The BJP leader said he was only engaging in discussions with party workers about voting procedures.
Leaders of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have sought a comprehensive investigation by the Election Commission.
Tawde expressed surprise that national leaders had become involved in the issue and said, "BJP people are no longer stupid to distribute money in a hotel owned by opposition parties. They should realise this much."
Reiterating that no money was found on him, Tawde quipped, "The Rs five crore that Rahul Gandhi and Supriya Sule saw, please send it to me. They can deposit it into my bank account."
Police on Tuesday registered two FIRs against Tawde, BJP candidate Rajan Naik and others in connection with the alleged distribution of cash to voters at the hotel in Palghar.
A separate FIR was registered against BJP and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi functionaries for allegedly trying to address a press conference.
The three cases were registered at the Tulinj police station in Palghar district for alleged violation of the election code of conduct in place for the assembly polls.
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Over 17,000 people went missing in Delhi in 2024: NCRB
New Delhi (PTI): A total of 23,058 people, comprising 9,482 men and 13,576 women, were reported missing in Delhi in 2024, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Of the total, 5,491 were children below the age of 18 — 1,571 boys, 3,920 girls.
The city recorded 17,567 fresh adult missing persons cases in 2024, comprising 7,911 men and 9,656 women.
According to the NCRB data, released on Wednesday, 14,637 men, 18,238 women and six transgender persons were still missing from previous years.
At the latest count, in 2024, Delhi had a total of 55,939 missing persons cases — 24,119 men, 31,814 women and six transgender persons.
In 2024, police traced or collected 28,392 missing persons, including 12,182 men, 16,208 women and two transgender persons.
Only half of the men and half of the women who went missing could be traced.
A total of 27,547 missing persons – 11,937 men, 15,606 women, four transgender persons — were yet to be untraced by the end of the year, the data showed.
The data also revealed that 5,352 children from previous years remained untraced at the beginning of 2024.
The number of still missing boys was 1,621, and the number of missing girls was 3,729. Two transgender children were yet to be found.
After adding the pending cases from previous years, the total number of missing children cases handled in 2024 rose to 10,843.
The police traced or recovered 6,762 missing children — 2,030 boys, 4,732 girls.
The recovery rate stood at 63.6 per cent for boys and 61.9 per cent for girls, while no transgender child was traced.
By the end of 2024, a total of 4,081 children remained untraced, 1,162 of them boys, 2,917 girls, and two transgender children.
