Guwahati: At least two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) agents were arrested in the Wokha district of Nagaland on Tuesday for reportedly attempting to bribe voters in order to “buy” their votes.
This occurs as Nagaland prepares for the upcoming February 27 assembly elections.
According to reports, the two NCP agents were busted in Wokha close to the Government Higher Secondary School (GHSS).
The NCP agents were identified as Janbemo Humtsoe and Zanbenthung Tungoe. They were apprehended in a location where on-duty officials were present in advance of the Nagaland assembly elections.
It should be noted that Nagaland election officials began using postal ballots for voting on Monday. According to reports, there were three parties involved in the incident, but only one was able to escape while the other two were arrested by authorities.
The cash and other evidence were kept along with the two suspects, who were then quickly turned over to Nagaland Police.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Nagaland’s 38 Wokha assembly constituencies wrote to the district election officer of Wokha and the deputy commissioner shortly after the incident came to light to voice his disgust with the opposition party’s activities.
The BJP candidate also demanded that action be taken against any government officials in Nagaland who had traded their votes for money. Moreover, he urged that those votes be regarded as invalid.
Meanwhile, a case has been launched with the Nagaland Police in relation to the incident and further steps will be followed in accordance with the law.
It should be mentioned that Nagaland Police have increased security and patrols throughout the state in advance of the polls in the northeastern state.
DGP Rupin Sharma was quoted by ANI saying, “Terrains in Nagaland are very difficult to commute even for short distances. Police personnel are putting a lot of effort in controlling law and order.