EC defers polling in sensitive Beas assembly seat to March 11

Chandigarh, Feb 8: Pulling up the Punjab government for ''failing'' to provide a ''condusive atmosphere'' for conducting a ''peaceful, free and fair poll'' in the Beas assembly constituency, the Election Commission of India (ECI) today deferred polling in the sensitive segment to March 11.

The polling in the segment was to be held on February 13 alongwith 116 other assembly constituencies. The polling in the Valtoha segment has already been deferred to February 24, due to the death of a CPI candidate in a road accident.

Counting of votes in all assembly constituencies except Beas will be taken up on February 27. The date of counting for Beas has not yet been intimated.

The Beas segment witnessed a clash between Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress workers during canvassing on January 29, in which an Akali worker was killed.

A FIR has been registered against Congress candidate Jasbir Singh Dimpa, his two brothers, Rajan and Harman, a SP-rank officer of the state police and 13 others, including his gunmen.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the state government for probing the Congress-SAD clash, has so far arrested four persons--a civilain and three gunmen of Dimpa. The team is yet to arrest Rajan, against whom the Assistant Judicial Magistrate, Baba Bakala had issued arrest warrants. No arrest warrants have however been issued against Dimpa or his brother, Harman, who was given a clean chit by the SIT, on the grounds that at the time of the clash, he was attending an official meeting in Chandigarh.

SAD candidate Manjinder Singh Kang had forwarded a copy of a CD to the ECI showing Rajan holding an AK-47 assualt rifle at the time of the clash. The ECI had directed the state government to immediately arrest Rajan and all those involved in the clash. Even though Dimpa too figured in the CD, the SIT is yet to indict him.

The ECI, in its letter to the Chief Electoral Officer, clearly stated ''the report of the Director General of Police (DGP) does not indicate the reason why Rajan, brother of Dimpa could not be arrested till now''.

''The ECI is of the view that the state government and police authorities in the state have failed to create such a peaceful atmosphere as may be condusive to the conduct of peaceful, free and fair elections in Beas'', the letter said.

The ECI is further of the considered view that polling may be postponed for time being in order to enable law and order enforcement machinery in the state to create a peaceful atmosphere which may instill confidence in the minds of candidates that they can carry on their campaign in free and fair manner and also to instill a feeling of security in the minds of the electorate of the constituency concerened, so that they would be in a position to go to polling stations to exercise their franchise without obstruction, coersion or fear of violence and intimidation'', the letter further stated.

In view of these observations, it said the ECI has decided to postpone the poll in Beas from February 13 to March 11.

There are 11 candidates in the fray in Beas, though the contest is confined mainly to the SAD and Congress. In the last assembly polls too, there had been violence in the constituency and Dimpa, who had won the 2002 polls from Beas, had been booked. In the last polls also, Kang was Dimpa's arch rival.

On the recommendations of the Amritsar district Returning Officer, eight companies of the Para Military Forces (PMF) had already been stationed in Beas to assist the local police. The SAD had at the start of the election process written to the ECI that PMF should be stationed in Beas as it apprehended that the Congress candidate there could indulge in violence to intimidate the voters.

There are 1,42,089 voters in Beas spread over 129 polling stations.

UNI