The Punjab Congress on Thursday approached the Election Commission (EC) seeking the cancellation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee Sawarn Singh Salaria’s candidature for Gurdaspur bypoll, alleging that he concealed information about a rape case registered against him in Mumbai in 2014.

Submitting the documents before the EC in Chandigarh, Punjab Congress spokesperson Gurpartap Singh Mann sought Salaria’s cancellation as candidate for the 11 October Gurdaspur bypoll.

Advertisement

He mentioned in the appeal that the BJP candidate was concealing a rape case registered against him. It further mentioned that the voter has the right to know about the history of every candidate.

The appeal submitted by Congress before the EC mentioned that a rape case was registered against Salaria in Mumbai in 2014. Rape charges were dropped by the police at the investigation level, after which the victim approached the Bombay High Court, which asked for re-reinvestigation of the allegations. Salaria also approached the court and a stay was granted on investigations till next hearing on 30 October.