Mumbai: The police on Saturday registered a case against 30 people and arrested five of them for allegedly manhandling an election official during cash seizure at the office of a BJP candidate in the city, an official said. Efforts are on to identify the other 25 named in the FIR, he said. In his complaint to the police on Friday, Madhav Bhangre from the Election Commission's flying squad said they received a complaint through the cVIGIL mobile app about cash distribution in the BP Crossroad area in the suburb of Mulund.
The mobile app enables citizens to report violations of the Model Code of Conduct. Mumbai will go to polls on May 20. When the flying squad reached the spot, they found it to be the back office of Mihir Kotehca, the BJP nominee for the Mumbai North-East Lok Sabha constituency, the official said, citing the complaint.
The squad found cash above Rs 50,000 in the office and seized it. Asked about the money, those in Kotecha's office said they would submit documents concerning it later, he said. As the flying squad was doing its work, several people gathered outside and started knocking on the door. When Bhangre and his team came out, the mob manhandled him and tried to snatch the money, the official said.
After being alerted, senior police officials rushed to the spot and dispersed the mob. The police on Saturday registered a case against Abhijeet Chavan, Gurujyot Sing Keer, Rohit Chikne, Dinesh Jadhav and Prateek Kotak and 25 unidentified persons under IPC sections, including 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging his duty) and 332 (voluntary causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty). The five identified accused have been arrested, the official said, adding that they are trying to establish the identities of the others.
