The Yavatmal police have filed charges against three individuals for reportedly attempting to offer bribes to voters to influence the electoral process. Police inspector Suresh Chawre of Yavatmal city police station stated that based on a complaint from the election commission’s flying squad stationed in the town, an offense has been registered under Section 171B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertains to bribery.
Superintendent of Police (Yavatmal) Pawan Bansod, confirming the incident, stated that it constitutes a non-cognizable offense, and no arrests have been made yet. The matter is currently under investigation. The flying squad was informed by Rajendra Gaikwad, the publicity chief of Shiv Sena (UBT), who alleged that workers from a rival political party were offering bribes to voters of a specific community. Additionally, Gaikwad claimed that these workers were marking voters’ fingers with indelible ink even before they reached the polling booth, purportedly to prevent them from voting.
Later, an official from the flying squad confirmed that they recovered a register containing voter names and a bottle of indelible ink. However, People who were trying to influence voters had already fled the scene, the official said.