The brother-in-law of newly elected Mumbai North West Lok Sabha MP Ravindra Waikar was booked for allegedly using a mobile phone at a counting centre on June 4 – when the Lok Sabha Election results 2024 were announced. A case was filed against Waikar's kin Mangesh Pandilkar on Wednesday for his alleged act inside a counting centre in Goregaon, which is part of Waikar's constituency."Pandilkar was booked on the complaint of polling personnel Dinesh Gurav. An independent candidate noticed the former using a mobile phone despite a ban on such devices at the counting centre and alerted the returning officer. The RO, in turn, approached Vanrai police," the official was quoted by PTI as saying.
Pandilkar was booked under Indian Penal Code section 188 (disobeying official order), the official added. A report emerged today claiming that Mangesh Pandilkar was using the phone, which was connected to the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). Mid Day cited police as saying that this mobile phone was used for generating the OTP that unlocked the EVM machine. The incident reportedly occurred inside the NESCO Centre during the counting of votes for the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat on June 4.
As per the report, the police sent the mobile phone to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to find the mobile phone data and call records. "We are also checking if the mobile phone was used for any other reason," Vanrai police official was quoted by Mid-day as saying. A clip of the Mid-day article went viral on Sunday, which many opposition leaders questioning the "transparency in our electoral process".
Shiv Sena (Shinde)'s Ravindra Waikar scripted one of the narrowest victories in the history of Lok Sabha elections when he defeated Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Amol Kirtikar in Mumbai North West constituency. Historically, this seat was held by Congress from 1967 to 1977. Renowned lawyer Ram Jethmalani then became the MP from this seat first with the Janata Party and then with BJP. From 1984 to 1996, actor Sunil Dutt held the seat for Congress. Shiv Sena won the seat in 1996 and 1998, but it went back to Sunil Dutt in 1999. After Sunil Dutt's death in 2005, his daughter Priya Dutt won the subsequent by-election.