A case registered by the Connaught Place police on Tuesday has thrown up a mysterious incident that happened before the Presidential election. Samajwadi Party MP from Salempur (Uttar Pradesh) Hari Kewal Prasad complained that on July 4, he was approached by two young men who asked him to vote for Pratibha Patil and “left Rs 10,000 on his table.” The Presidential poll was on July 19. Prasad, a four-time MP and member of the parliamentary committee for food, consumer affairs and public distribution, had complained to the Connaught Place SHO and deposited the money with the police station on July 4. However, the Connaught Place police took over four months to register an FIR. On Tuesday, they registered an FIR under Section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and started looking for the duo. A senior police official said the FIR was registered late “because the police were verifying the authenticity of the complaint.”On July 4 around 10 am, the FIR said, one Devender Mukhiya came to meet Prasad at Shanti Villa, his official residence at 30-A, Atul Grove Road in New Delhi, and requested him to meet two people “who needed some help”. Prasad reportedly knew Mukhiya, a resident of Ghaziabad. “He (Mukhiya) asked me to meet two persons who were to come to me later seeking some assistance on a problem. Two youths, aged between 25 and 30 years, came around 6 pm on July 4 and gave Mukhiya’s reference. One of them was carrying a bag,” the complaint said. “They told me that I was a a very senior member and I could arrange more votes for the candidate. But I told them that we already have a Third Front. I also told them that I was leaving for an official tour and would return on July 11 and they should meet me later. After that, I went inside for a while. When I returned, I saw Rs 10,000 lying on the table and the two youths had left,” Prasad told The Indian Express on Thursday. Prasad added that the police had not taken quick action in questioning Mukhiya about the youths. Prasad, however, refused to comment on how he knew Mukhiya. Mukhiya claims he doesn’t know Prasad well. “I did not introduce anybody to him (Prasad). I had met him once in 1992 and once after that when I needed some help to get myself admitted to a government hospital for an angioplasty. I could not afford the amount charged by private hospitals.” He said all allegations against him were false.
