Vazhapadi Police have registered a case against Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) candidate for the by-election to the Yercaud Assembly Constituency V. Maran on Friday for allegedly violating the model code of conduct.
R. Sakthivel, SP told The Hindu that the case was registered based on a complaint lodged by Iyanar, Village Administrative Officer (VAO) of Vazhapadi. The DMK candidate was booked under Sections 171 (h) (Illegal payments in connection with elections) and 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), of the IPC This is the first case of code violation that has been booked against a candidate for the by-election.
“In his complaint, the VAO claimed that Mr. Maran was accompanied by more than ten vehicles — a violation of the model code — when he was on his way to Attur from Vazhapadi for a campaign on Tuesday (Oct. 22). However, the VAO could not explain the reason for the delay in lodging the complaint on Friday, three days after the incident took place,” the SP said.
He said that the VAO also did not have any proof such as the registration numbers of the vehicles accompanying the candidate or a video recording as evidence.
“He claimed that the vehicles moved very fast, not leaving much time to record it or to make a note of the registration numbers.
We are trying to verify if the incident has been recorded at the temporary police check post at Somampatti,” he added. Mr. Sakthivel said investigations are under way.
