Mandya: The seizure of badoota (non-veg feast) from political party workers during the election season has become order of the day. What will the officials, mainly police, do with the food that was to be served to voters or the party workers?
Arakere police had seized badoota while it was being transported by JD(S) activists in Srirangapatna recently. Instead of wasting the freshly cooked badoota, police and the election officers took it to Srirangapatna Backward Classes and Minorities Hostel (BCM Hostel) and served it to the students. Before doing so, the police did the mahazar. According to authorities, many district authorities are adopting the same method to ensure that food is not wasted.
Arakere police and the election squad had on Friday seized a vessel full of chicken sambar, three buckets of eggs, two vessels of white rice, a vessel of ghee rice, and a vessel of chicken fry. They had also detained Manju, a resident of Mandyakoppalu village, in connection with the transport of badoota. Initially, he told the authorities that the food was for his family. But after an inquiry, they got to know that the feast was being taken to serve to JD(S) activists.
Deciding against wasting the freshly cooked food, the team contacted Srirangapatna BCM Hostel warden whether they can serve it the inmates. After he gave them the green signal, the authorities completed the mahazar and took the food to the hostel.
Speaking to The Times of India, a police officer said badoota seized at the time of election is generally buried after mahazar. “But this food was fresh. So police and the election squad jointly decided against wasting it. It was served to needy students,” the police officer said.
Mysuru zilla panchayat CEO and Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) officer P Shivashankar also said that the food is usually destroyed after mahazar.
Claiming anonymity, another officer said that if the food is fresh and is contaminated, it could be served to needy people like students. “There is no standard protocol for handling the seized food. It is impossible to store food as a proof as it is perishable. So this practice is slowly becoming popular among the officers,” he said.
