Samajwadi Party candidate Sanatan Pandey, running for the Ballia Lok Sabha seat, has been charged with spreading enmity and hatred among different sections of society and threatening the District Election Officer, reports PTI.
Superintendent of Police Dev Ranjan Verma said that based on a complaint from Sub Inspector Makhan Singh in Ballia city, an FIR has been filed against Pandey under various sections including Section 171 F of the Indian Penal Code (exercising undue influence in elections), Section 189 (threatening a public servant), Section 186 (obstructing a public servant in public work), and Section 505 (2) (spreading hatred and animosity between different groups), along with sections 125 and 136 of the Representation of the People Act 1950.
Pandey allegedly made remarks on April 27 regarding the tenure and actions of the current government, leading to accusations of inciting enmity, hatred, and animosity among different societal groups, as well as threatening the District Election Officer.
Pandey, who previously contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as a Samajwadi Party candidate but lost to the BJP’s Virendra Singh Mast by a margin of 16,000 votes, is now facing charges ahead of the upcoming voting in Ballia, scheduled for June 1.