Voting from Dibrugarh jail, pro-Khalistan leader sends postal ballot for VP poll
Detained MP, Amritpal Singh voted through a postal ballot sent to Delhi
A file image of Central Jail Dibrugarh (Photo: IANS)
Dibrugarh, Sept 10: Amritpal Singh, Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib MP lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail under preventive detention, exercised his franchise yesterday in the vice-presidential election through a postal ballot. The Election Commission had directed jail authorities to facilitate his voting rights under Rule 26 of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules, 1974.
Officials provided Singh with the ballot paper and ensured its secure return in a sealed envelope, which was dispatched by air to Delhi and reached the returning officer well before the 6 PM deadline for counting.
In the contest, NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan emerged victorious, defeating Opposition nominee and former Supreme Court judge Sudershan Reddy.
Amritpal Singh, chief of the radical outfit, Waris De Punjab, was detained by Punjab Police in April 2023 from Moga district and later shifted to Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act (NSA). He faces accusations of attempting to incite discord, forming a private militia, and promoting separatist ideology.
Along with Singh, nine of his close associates were also detained under the NSA in Dibrugarh, though seven have since been transferred to Punjab now.