‘Extreme harassment, mental agony,’ SDM accuses Moga DC, seeks transfer post-Baghapurana poll row; he denies

On March 17, the SAD alleged that in the 25-member block samiti it had 13 elected members, whereas the AAP had just eight; even then, local MLA Amritpal Singh Sukhanand declared AAP members winners for both posts. The SAD alleged that it had the support of 15 members, including 13 of its own and two others, but the AAP resorted to “open loot of the election”. SAD further alleged that nine of its women members were “locked in a room” and not allowed to vote, following which they lodged a complaint with the deputy commissioner, demanding “re-election”. The party said they would move the high court if re-election wasn’t held.

Walia, in his complaint, stated that the election process “could not be completed on March 17 due to a serious law and order situation”. He alleged that “after the said incident, I have been subjected to continuous harassment” through “persistent phone calls, creating an atmosphere of pressure and intimidation”. He wrote that he had to “switch off my phone to cope up with the stress and pressure imposed on me”.

“Such actions appear to be influenced by extraneous considerations, with an intent to compel declaration of election results in favour of a particular candidate(s), which is contrary to principles of free and fair elections,” Walia stated in the complaint.

Walia demanded “a free and impartial inquiry into the sequence of events, provision of adequate protection to my life, one month leave in view of extreme mental stress and transfer out of Moga to ensure a free environment and any influence during the inquiry period”.

Walia could not be reached for comments as his phone was switched off.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Setia while denying the allegations, said that he only asked the SDM to submit a detailed and clear report on what exactly happened on the election day (March 17).

“A day after the election, we received a complaint from the SAD representatives that 15 of their elected members could not participate in the election process. It was the SDM who was responsible to conduct the election in a free and fair manner being the Returning Officer (RO). But he did not even inform me the same day (March 17) that the election process could not be completed due to law and order issues. Instead, he sent a report the next day, which too, was very vague, and the necessary details were missing. I have already marked an inquiry into the entire sequence of events that happened on March 17, and it is being conducted by the additional deputy commissioner (ADC). The matter is now sub-judice and we will act as per High Court orders,” said Setia.

Meanwhile, addressing a rally in Moga on Sunday, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged that the “mental harassment and torture” being meted out to the Baghapurana SDM proved that “the AAP does not believe in the rule of law and can do anything to secure bogus poll victories”.

“It was shocking the way Baghapurana SDM disclosed how Moga deputy commissioner was forcing him to elect AAP candidates to the offices of chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Baghapurana Block Samiti, even though the AAP lacked a majority,” Badal said.

The SAD chief added, “The ruling AAP has now started forcing government employees to obey its illegal dictates by indulging in physical and mental harassment and even threats of elimination to their family members.”

Meanwhile, the SAD said that the party had filed a petition in the high court, demanding re-election, and the matter would come up for a hearing on Monday.
AAP MLA Sukhanand said on Sunday: “The matter is now sub-judice in High Court. The SDM has complained against DC, not me or party.”