A fake Rajya Sabha MP identity card, containing all the minute security details, has been purportedly recovered from Sukesh Chandrashekhar, a co-accused in an attempted bribery case along with AIADMK (Amma) leader T.T.V Dhinakaran.
Party symbol
In the first arrest in the case, Sukesh was held from a hotel here on April 16 for allegedly taking money from Mr. Dhinakaran to bribe Election Commission of India (ECI) officials to get AIADMK (Amma) faction its poll symbol of two leaves. Sukesh, an alleged middleman, was hired by Mr. Dhinakaran to obtain a favourable verdict from the ECI ahead of the R.K. Nagar by-elections in Tamil Nadu, the police claimed.
The police have said they suspect Sukesh obtained such a replica to convince people he was an MP and gain access to those who could put him in touch with Election Commission of India (ECI) officials for obtaining the party symbol of two leaves. They added that the discovery itself has left the police worried about the misuse of such replicas.
Source of ID card
An officer privy to the investigation said it needed a detailed observation to notice the duplicate card’s features and that they could potentially be used to breach security. Delhi Police Crime Branch, which is probing the case, has initiated a probe to ascertain who gave the ID card to Sukesh.
Since the recent recovery, the Crime Branch has added Section 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc) of the Indian Penal Code to the FIR in order to strengthen the case, a senior police officer said.
This is a stringent legal provision and the violation carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The new provision being added has also allowed the investigators to buy more time to file a chargesheet.
R.K Nagar by-polls
After his arrest, Sukesh had discolsed Mr. Dhinakaran's name to the police. Nine days and several rounds of questioning later, he too was arrested. It is alleged that following an internal tussle, the AIADMK (Amma) faction had hoped to obtain the symbol for the bypoll to the R.K Nagar Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu, which was later cancelled by the EC after the alleged irregularities were reported.
The other section, led by former Chief Minister O.Panneerselvam, had also staked a claim to the two leaves symbol. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, who represented the constituency.
