Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former minister Azam Khan was on Monday sentenced to 7 years imprisonment in connection with a case of trespass and vandalism of a house in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur in 2016. This is the 5^th case in which Khan, who is already serving a jail sentence has been convicted over the past 1 year.

3 other retired deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Aaley Hasan, contractor Barkat Ali and Azhar Ali were found gulty along with Azam Khan by the MP-MLA court in Rampur on Friday. The court handed them 5 year sentences. Another three accused Omendra Chauhan, Farman and Zibran have been aquitted by the court.

According to the prosecution, the incident took place in 2016, but the case was filed 3 years later. In his complaint filed in 2019, Ahtesham Khan told police that he had bought a parcel of land in Rampur district’s Dongarpur in 2011-12 in order to set up a school.

In a portion of the land, he had built a house where he started living with his family. On the evening of February 3, 2016, Azhar Khan, Aaley Hasan and Barkat Ali along with 20-25 policemen, forcibly entered his house, dragged his family out, vandalized household items, and ran a bulldozer over the property.

Ahtesham alleged the accused also took away Rs 25000 in cash and a cellphone from the house. He added the accused told him that this was being done to his family for not voting for Azam Khan. He then went to Azam Khan to complain about the incident, at which time the politician along with other abused and threatened him with imprisonment.

Azam Khan and 3 other have been found guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 452 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 427(mischief causing damage to the amount of Rs 50), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).

Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the Election Commission issued orders for the removal of six Home Secretaries and the top bureaucrats from Gujarat, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.

The top police official in a state where there have been multiple incidents of violence during elections in recent years, West Bengal’s Director-General of Police, was also transferred by the poll panel. The poll panel also mandated that by 5 p.m., a shortlist of three possible candidates for the position be prepared and submitted.

The transfer of the home secretaries of Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, as well as top officials affiliated with the offices of the chief ministers of Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh, is part of the reorganisation, which is a customary action by the Election Commission  ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

In addition, Iqbal Singh Chahal, the Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, as well as other officials from Maharashtra’s municipalities, have been dismissed.

The 2024 Lok Sabha election is less than a month away; the ECI announced on Saturday that voting will take place in seven phases starting on April 19 and ending on June 1.

Actually, since the ECI issued polling dates, this is the first bureaucratic reshuffle.

Following a meeting with his two associates, the recently appointed Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar took action. In the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, as well as the by-polls for 26 seats across 13 states, the poll panel is committed to providing fair and equal opportunities for all political parties. This action is part of that commitment.

According to sources, the dismissed officials were found to be holding multiple positions in the chief ministers’ offices of each state. This could compromise needed impartiality, especially with regard to law-and-order before, during, and after voting.

The Congress asserted that the state had unleashed thugs on the populace, while the Trinamool charged the opposition with inciting violence and chastised central authorities for their inability to safeguard voters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his Shakti remarks and said every mother and daughter is a form of Shakti in the country. He was addressing a Lok Sabha election rally in Telangana’s Jagtial.

PM Modi said that INDI alliance in their manifesto said that their fight is against Shakti. He said for him every mother, daughter and sister is a form of Shakti. He said he worships Bharat Mata. He said the INDI alliance manifesto says that they will finish Shakti. The prime minister said that he accepted this challenge.

He talked about how the landing point of Chandrayaan 3 is also named Shiv-Shakti. He said the fight is between those who want to finish Shakti and those who worship Shakti. He said Muqabla 4 June ko ho jaega. Earlier on Sunday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spoke at the closing ceremony of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai. He compared the NDA regime to the Hindu symbol of Shakti which is often associated with Maa Durga.

He said in Hinduism, there is a term called Shakti. He said they are fighting against that Shakti. On being asked what is that Shakti? He responded by saying that the soul of the King is in EVM and every institution of the country in ED, CBI and Income Tax department.

Rahul Gandhi made a scathing attack on the prime minister and said Modi is a mask who works for the Shakti. He said PM Modi is a shallow man who doesn’t have a 56 inch chest. In response the BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya is a Hinduphobic and misogynist. He reminded the people how another prominent leader of the INDIA Bloc Udhayanidhi Stalin issued statements against Sanatan Dharma. He said after Udhayanidhi Stalin called for the annihilation of Sanatan Dharma, it is now Rahul Gandhi’s turn to denigrate Shakti.