The Nallasopara police on Saturday filed a non-cognisable offence against four men who were allegedly found distributing money to people who participated in Shiv Sena candidate Pradeep Sharma’s rally.
According to officers, the patrolling squad of the Election Commission of India was passing through Sopara village in Nallasopara (West) around 10 p.m. on Friday when they spotted the men.
“Officers of the squad caught the men and brought them to the police station around midnight. They had ₹5,000 which was seized,” an officer with the Nallasopara police said. The four men, all residents of Nallasopara, were charged with distributing money for election purposes under the Indian Penal Code.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr . Sharma has however refuted that they were his party members. “I don’t need to pay people to participate in my rallies. Over 3,000 people come for my rally daily and are enthusiastic about clicking selfies with me. Anybody can be found with ₹5,000 as it’s not a big amount,” he said.
The cop-turned-politician said, “If the men are from Nallasopara, they must be from the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA). I am new to this place. The BVA must have arranged for people to defame me,” he said.
In response, Nallasopara MLA Kshitij Thakur said that a look at Mr. Sharma’s background was enough to know who was more likely to indulge in illegal activities.
ADVERTISEMENT
“On being caught, Mr. Sharma didn’t have any other option but to blame BVA. I will continue to say, everybody has a tongue and an opinion and shouldn’t be given unnecessary importance,” he said.