Case against Shinde Sena MP’s brother-in-law for using phone to unlock EVM
The Mumbai Police have filed a case against Mangesh Pandilkar, the brother-in-law of recently elected Mumbai North West Lok Sabha MP Ravindra Waikar, for allegedly using a mobile phone at a counting station on June 4, the day the Lok Sabha election results were released.
Pandilkar is accused of using the cell phone inside the counting centre in Mumbai’s Goregaon area. According to police sources, the phone was used to generate a One-Time Password (OTP) for an electronic voting machine (EVM) at the counting centre.
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Waikar’s win against Amol Gajanan Kirtikar sparked controversy
Waikar, an MP from the Shiv Sena group led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, defeated Amol Gajanan Kirtikar of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena by 48 votes in the Mumbai North West seat. This created controversy, with Thackeray stating that his party will dispute the outcome.
After the vote was announced, many candidates contesting the seat filed complaints with the police and the Election Commission. In addition, the police have filed a complaint against an Election Commission official who reportedly gave Pandilkar the cell phone.
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According to sources, Dinesh Gurav, the poll officer, had the phone that generates the OTP required to unlock an EVM. According to the rules, the phone was only supposed to be used by election officers.
Police said they obtained statements from Pandilkar and the Election Commission official whose phone was used. They also contacted the returning officer to request further action.
According to sources, the phone may have been used to generate the OTP, which is currently being investigated by authorities. According to them, the phone was also used for data management and making calls.
According to sources, the police believe Pandilkar used the phone from the morning until 4:30 p.m., when there was a close race for the Mumbai North West seat. According to police, Pandilkar confirmed using the phone to make calls.
According to sources, the police would access the call records from the mobile phone used to generate the OTP once they have obtained information about the cell number used to call on that device.
The police will look into how many calls and OTPs were received on the phone that was seized. They will also look into if calls were received on that phone.
