Kasaragod District Collector D Sajith Babu on Wednesday confirmed that two persons had cast bogus votes in the constituency during the Lok Sabha polls held on April 23rd.
On the backdrop of TV channels showing footage of bogus voting, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the state Teeka Ram Meena had asked the District Collector to submit a report regarding the incident after conducting an inquiry.
District Collector D Sajith Babu told TNM that though only two persons have now been confirmed of indulging in bogus voting, there are possibilities that more people could have done the same. “Our inquiry is going on and we believe there are more people who cast bogus votes,” the Collector who is also the Returning Officer of the constituency told TNM.
The two who cast bogus votes have been confirmed as Muhammad Fayiz and Hashiq by the District Collector. According to reports, Muhammad Fayiz and Hashiq are supporters of IUML but Kasaragod District Collector told TNM that they are yet to confirm the political affiliation. “We cannot say at present to which political party they are affiliated to. Both of them have been asked to appear at the collectorate by 2 pm tomorrow. Further action will be decided after that,” said Sajith Babu.
It has been reported that Muhammad Fayiz cast his vote twice, once in booth number 69 and then in booth number 70. Meanwhile Hashiq polled twice in booth number 69. The allegation was confirmed after checking visuals from webcasting in the polling booths.
Over the past few days, various political parties have been raising allegations of bogus voting in different constituencies. CEO Teeka Ram Meena on Monday had also confirmed that three bogus votes were polled at Pilathara school in Kannur by CPI(M) workers, but this assembly segment too comes the Kasaragod Lok Sabha constituency.
Padmini, NP Saleena and Sumayya, were the people who had then been identified as those who cast bogus votes. NP Saleena is a panchayat member of the CPI(M), whereas Sumayya is a polling agent and former panchayat member of the party.
Now with Kasaragod District Collector confirming that another two persons engaged in bogus voting, the number has gone up to five.
