RUDY IN POLICE NET

30 April 2004, (ANI)

Patna, Apr 29 (ANI): Police have registered two cases against Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and his bodyguards, charging them with booth capturing during the April 26 polls in Chapra.



The officer in charge of Amnaur police station, said that the cases were registered on receiving complaints from presiding officer Ragho Prasad of Taraiya's booth No 168 and RJD activist Rajiv Singh.



Rajiv Singh has accused Rudy of using abusive language and intimidating voters. He added Rudy's bodyguard forcibly took Rs 3,000 from him.



Interestingly, police superintendent Ganesh Kumar was not aware of the cases against Rudy.



'I am 95 per cent sure that no case has been registered against the Union minister till yesterday,' Kumar said.



Rudy has accused ruling RJD activists of unleashing large-scale booth capturing and violence and has called for re-elections.



RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav is pitted against Rudy in the constituency. When contacted, BJP state President Gopal Narayan Singh alleged that the cases were lodged at the behest of Laloo Yadav after Rudy had complained to the Election Commission.



Accusing Rudy of trying to cover up widespread booth rigging by BJP workers during the poll, RJD supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav said the 'law would take its own course'.



'The cases against Rudy and his bodyguards have exposed the sinister design of the BJP to get the elections to the seat countermanded,' the former chief minister of Bihar said.



'It is not us but the BJP supporters who have lodged complaints against Rudy and his bodyguards for indulging in booth capturing, skirmishes and intimidation,' Yadav said.



Meanwhile, the Election Commission has decided to send a two-member team to hold a detailed inquiry into the incidents of booth capturing and ascertain the factual position.



The Commission, which has kept pending the decision on a repoll despite the Returning Officer's report, will send the officials in the next few days. (ANI)