The probe into Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav’s unopposed election to the Lok Sabha in the 2012 bypoll from Kannauj parliamentary constituency has gathered momentum after a change of guard in Uttar Pradesh.
A team of the Crime Branch CID reached Kannauj on Sunday and launched an investigation into allegations that rival candidates were “kidnapped” by SP supporters as a result of which they failed to file their nomination papers.
Party leaders had rejected the allegations. According to police, the team quizzed people from different sections to assess the veracity of the allegations. The team also recorded statements of people from the media and leaders and workers of different political parties.
Some district officials were also questioned. The team will submit its report to senior officials “very soon”, said a police officer in Kannauj.
Akhilesh Yadav, who had won the Kannauj seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, resigned after he became the chief minister in 2012, necessitating a bypoll from there.
Dimple was declared elected unopposed as she was the lone candidate in the fray after the last date for filing nominations.
A petition was also filed in the court seeking a probe into the matter. Though the CBCID probe was ordered in 2012 itself, it could not begin as the SP was the ruling party in the state.
After the change of guard in the state following the BJP’s victory in the Assembly polls earlier this year, the probe was revived. Sources said that the investigation into the matter will be expedited. Dimple Yadav is currently the Lok Sabha member from Kannauj. She retained the seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Published 17 July 2017, 19:44 IST