A polling agent has been arrested in Haryana’s Faridabad near Delhi after he allegedly tried to influence voters inside a polling booth on Sunday during the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls.
Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa confirmed that the person was arrested on Sunday afternoon and an FIR has been filed.
The matter was brought to the notice of the poll officials after a video of the alleged booth capture went viral on social media.
In the video, a man in blue t-shirt is seen sitting at his table inside a polling booth at Asaoti in Faridabad Lok Sabha seat’s Prithla. A few women can be seen lined up for casting their vote. The man then walks up to the voting compartment as a woman prepares to cast her vote and appears to press a button on the voting machine before returning to his seat. He does the same with two other women.
Nobody can be seen stopping the man from carrying out the act.
Faridabad, Haryana
How impotent are the systems
CEC, Please answer pic.twitter.com/0Lc8d516Xu
— Paul Koshy (@Paul_Koshy) May 12, 2019
Several social media users tagged the Election Commission seeking action.
“DEO Faridabad reported that the observer, Sanjay Kumar investigated the entire matter. The person in the video is the Polling agent who has been arrested in the afternoon itself. FIR is lodged,” Lavasa tweeted.
The person in the video is the Polling agent who has been arrested in the afternoon itself. FIR lodged. He was trying to effect at least 3 lady voters. Observer & ARO with teams visited the booth at Asawati in prithala constituency. He is satisfied that voting was never vitiated
— DISTRICT ELECTION OFFICE FARIDABAD (@OfficeFaridabad) May 12, 2019
The district election office in Faridabad said voting was, however, not compromised.
“Prompt action taken. FIR lodged. Person behind bars. Observer enquired the matter personally and is satisfied that polling was never vitiated (sic),” the District Election Office in Faridabad tweeted.
Faridabad which went to polls on Sunday along with seven other states saw a voter turnout of 64.48 per cent until 10 pm.
In Faridabad, Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar of the BJP is seeking re-election. Avtar Singh Bhadana is the Congress candidate and Pandit Naveen Jaihind is the Aam Aadmi Party candidate.