Minor protests reported in Kerala polling over bogus vote allegations
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Assembly polling across Kerala progressed largely peacefully, but protests were reported at several booths on Thursday over allegations of bogus voting.
A minor scuffle broke out between Congress and BJP activists at Manalur in Thrissur district after UDF candidate T N Prathapan arrived in the area.
According to police, BJP activists prevented people accompanying Prathapan from entering the booth premises, leading to the scuffle.
In Wadakkanchery, also in Thrissur district, a voter, Sajeev, was unable to cast his vote after election officials informed him that his vote had already been recorded as a postal ballot.
This triggered protests by BJP activists, prompting police intervention.
Although election officials offered to allow him to cast a tender vote, he declined.
BJP candidate T S Ullas Babu later arrived at the booth and staged a protest.
A similar incident occurred in Kuttiady, Kozhikode district, where a woman was denied the right to vote after it was found that her vote had already been cast as a postal ballot.
At Malampuzha and Shoranur in Palakkad district, Thrikkaripur in Kasaragod, and Vattiyoorkavu in Thiruvananthapuram, complaints emerged that votes had been cast in the names of original voters, leading to protests.
The affected voters were later permitted to cast tender votes.
If a voter arrives at the polling station and finds someone has already voted in their name, they can inform the presiding officer. After satisfactorily proving their identity with valid documents, the voter is allowed to cast a tendered ballot instead of using the voting machine.
In Kalpetta, Wayanad, a polling agent was removed after it was found that she was simultaneously working as an ASHA worker.
In a separate incident in Uduma, Kasaragod, a Congress agent was caught using "smart spectacles" inside a polling booth.
At a polling booth in Badaje, Manjeshwar, Kasaragod, a defect was noticed in a voting machine that recorded more votes than were actually polled.
Polling in all 140 Assembly constituencies in Kerala commenced at 7 am.
The crucial elections will decide whether the ruling LDF will secure a straight third term, whether the UDF will make a comeback, or whether the BJP will spring a surprise in an otherwise bipolar contest.
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.
IPL band guitarist’s ID allegedly misused for black marketing of tickets in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: A musician who performed at Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in the city has found himself caught in a legal issue after his official ID card was allegedly misused for black marketing of match tickets.
The complainant, Hemanth KB, is a guitarist with the band ‘Sakkare Mitaayi’, which had earlier performed during Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) home matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The band had been issued official ID cards by event partner DNA Entertainment for entry to the venue.
According to a report by Deccan Herald, the issue began on March 28 when Hemanth shared photos from the event on Instagram, inadvertently displaying the front side of his ID card.
On April 6, the band’s drummer Pruthvi reportedly received a call from organisers stating that the ID card had surfaced in a black ticket racket. The callers alleged that tickets were being sold illegally using the musician’s ID credentials and asked him to report to officials.
Following this, the guitarist approached the police. During the preliminary inquiry, it was found that an unidentified person had used his ID details to collect ₹4,875 through UPI from buyers. Police said they have traced the transaction to a mobile number linked to the suspect.
Hemanth has denied any involvement in the racket and told police that he had no knowledge of how his identity was misused. He has since deleted the social media post that showed his ID card.
A case has been registered at the Cubbon Park Police Station, and further investigation is underway to identify the person responsible for the fraud.
