Haryana Minister of State for Cooperation Manish Grover charged by police (Representational image)
Haryana Minister of State for Cooperation Manish Grover has been charged by the Rohtak Police for alleged criminal intimidation and exercising undue influence during the recently-held Lok Sabha polls, officials said.
An FIR was registered against the Haryana minister and Ramesh Lohar, who is a history-sheeter, on Tuesday at a Rohtak police station, they said.
They have been charged for criminal conspiracy, undue influence during elections, public servant disobeying the directions under law, criminal intimidation and under Arms Act, the officials added.
The police action comes after a court issued a notice to police official Dilbag Singh on a contempt plea in the case.
The FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by Lokender Singh Phogat, president of the District Bar Association, who alleged that Manish Grover and Ramesh Lohar along with a group of 50-60 musclemen had entered a polling booth in Rohtak on the polling day, May 12. They created ruckus and intimidated voters with an intention to capture the booth.
Mr Phogat had alleged that he too had been threatened by the Haryana minister and Mr Lohar for informing the police.
The BJP legislator from Rohtak had earlier rubbished these charges.
In his complaint submitted before a Rohtak court on May 18, Mr Phogat had sought registration of a case in the matter. The court on June 3 ordered registration of FIR against the two accused.
Later, the police filed a revised petition in the court of additional district and sessions judge, which was dismissed last week.
Three-time Congress legislator Deepender Singh Hooda was the party nominee from Rohtak. He was defeated by BJP's Arvind Sharma by a narrow margin of over 7,000 votes.
A day after the polling, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had written to the chief election commissioner (CEC), seeking appropriate action against Mr Grover for allegedly intimidating voters in Rohtak.
In his letter to the CEC on May 13, Mr Azad had accused the Haryana minister of "illegally sabotaging" the polling.