A probe was ordered on Saturday against a Circle Officer (CO) in Chandauli district after a purported video of him allegedly slapping an elderly man, later identified as a Samajwadi Party leader, went viral on social media, said police. The incident took place at a polling booth during the first phase of voting for the urban local body polls under the Mughalsarai police station limits on May 4, said police. Police identified the SP leader as Akhilesh Jaiswal, the son of former Nagar Palika chairperson Rajkumar Jaiswal, also an SP leader. Speaking on Saturday, Chandauli SP Ankur Aggarwal, who ordered the probe, said, “The officer who is seen in the videos says that during polling the person (Jaiswal) gathered at the polling booth with 300-400 people and started creating a ruckus. Officer Singh said that Jaiwal used some objectionable language against him, and to control the situation, he used some force. We will probe the matter and see if the use of force was required or not. It is clear that force was used, so whether it was necessary or not will be checked.” “About the allegations of polling irregularities, the officer said that it was not true and that these people (SP leaders) should have reached out to him (Singh) before gathering so many people. Everything will be checked,” added Aggarwal. When contacted by The Indian Express, SP’s Chandauli district unit chief Satnarayan Rajbhar said, “He slapped our leader after he made some complaints of irregularities in voting on May 4. He hit other SP leaders too. He should be suspended. We will move court against him if no action is taken against him.”
