Relief at false complaints

The old St. Stephen8217;s College building, housing the Election Commission office, was abuzz with complaints of booth capturing, bogus voting and various other grievances throughout the day.

But what startled top officials was a complaint that the Chandni Mahal Station House Officer SHO was forcing voters of the Matia Mahal area to cast their ballot in favour of a particular candidate.

A message was flashed to the police head quarters and a deputy commissioner of police DCP was asked to investigate. The charges were serious and could entail penal action. An inquiry was conducted and the tense atmosphere at the EC office eased, when a fax message arrived from the police head quarters saying that there was no element of truth in the complaint.