Ghaziabad: AIMIM candidate denied nod to open election office
The AIMIM office bearers said they had applied for permission for opening a temporary election office at PAC Chowk, Kaila Bhata, but the permission was denied by the returning officer
The district officials on Monday denied permission to the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate to open a temporary election office in Muslim dominated Kaila Bhatta locality of Ghaziabad as the candidate, Ravi Gautam, was on October 5 booked for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups at PAC Chowk, Kaila Bhata.
The AIMIM office bearers said they had applied for permission for opening a temporary election office at PAC Chowk, Kaila Bhata, but the permission was denied by the returning officer.
The police took cognizance of the alleged speech by Gautam on October 4 and filed an FIR the next day. The FIR alleged that Gautam and others were involved in making hate speeches amid a gathering of members of the Muslim community.
This came after Dasna Devi temple head priest Yati Narsinghanand allegedly made derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammed during an event in Lohiya Nagar, Ghaziabad, on September 29, aparking widespread protests across the state. The police took cognizance of this and booked Narsinghanand for hate speech on October 3.
Last month, Gautam’s name was announced as prospective candidate by the Bahujan Samaj Party, but he was later denied a ticket by that party.
He then went on to join the AIMIM and got a ticket to contest the Ghaziabad assembly by-poll, which will take place on November 13.
He also figures in the list of 14 candidates who cleared the scrutiny process on Monday.
“The permission sought by AIMIM candidate for opening a temporary election office at PAC Chowk was denied. This is because it is at the same place that he made some speeches and the police booked him in an FIR. So, the permission was denied,” said Santosh Pandey, city magistrate and returning officer.
In a letter to the AIMIM city president, the returning officer said the alleged act by Gautam was intended to disturb peace, law and order in Kaila Bhatta area, a Muslim dominated densely-populated locality.
The office bearers of the AIMIM, however, alleged that permission was denied owing to political reasons.
“Our candidate was sent to jail for a couple of days after the FIR and we got hom released on bail after three days. Now, we have been denied permission for setting up our election office. We are now looking at another location for the office in order to effectively carry out the election campaign,” said Manmohan Jha Gaba, city president of the AIMIM.
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