By IANS,
Bhopal : The Madhya Pradesh Police have registered a case of obstruction and misbehaviour against Tourism Minister Tukoji Rao Puar for allegedly throwing papers at the returning officer of the Sonkach assembly constituency in Dewas district.
Puar, who belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), allegedly threw the papers at the returning officer Sanjana Jain at her office after she turned down his demand to reject the nomination papers of former minister Sajjan Singh Verma, who is the Congress candidate from Sonkach constituency.
Puar reached Jain’s office with BJP candidate Phool Chand Verma after completion of scrutiny Saturday and insisted that Sajjan Singh’s nomination be cancelled as his papers were not in order, police said.
When Jain explained to the minister that she had reviewed the objections against Sajjan Singh’s nomination found his papers valid, Puar allegedly threw papers at her table and used abusive language against her, police added.
After the minister and his associates left the office, Jain submitted a report along with the video footage of the incident to the Election Commission of India (ECI) through District Returning Officer Navneet Kothari.
Kothari, besides sending the complaint to the ECI, also sent a copy to the Dewas police, which in turn registered a case against the minister.
“We got the complaint of Jain Sunday evening and immediately registered a case under Sections 353 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) charging the minister with obstructing official work and using abusive language against a government official,” Dewas police chief Mayank Jain told IANS over the phone.
Elections for the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly will be held Nov 27.