A man accused of stealing a ballot paper has been remanded in 15-day judicial custody till February 4 by the chief judicial magistrate, Imphal West on Friday.
The court gave consent to examine the CCTV footage for deciding whether there has been any dishonest intention on the part of the accused person, Huirem Naresh Singh, 49, son of (L) H Tombi Singh of Keishamthong Elangbam Leikai, Imphal West, in taking the ballot paper from the possession of the complainant.
The investigating officer of the case directed to collect the CCTV footage and produce it before the court on February 25. Meanwhile, for smooth investigation of the case, the accused person is remanded in judicial custody.
As per the medical report, the accused person is also declared to be Covid-19 positive. The SP of MCJ-Sajiwa has been directed to arrange accommodation for the accused person as a precautionary measure. The investigating officer of the case was directed to procure adequate medicines for treatment of the accused person.
Lamphel police produced the accused before the court with a prayer of judicial custody. The allegation made against the accused person is that on February 17, he had taken away a ballot paper bearing Sl No 001 from the strong room of Kuranganayani Hall located at DC Office, Imphal West Complex in between 12.30 pm to 12.35 pm.
The returning officer of Keishamthong assembly constituency lodged the present complaint after detecting that the ballot paper was missing. As the accused was reportedly spotted near the gate of the DC Office, he was searched and the said ballot paper was found from his possession.
Counsel for the accused submitted that the accused person took the ballot paper innocently, thinking that the same is a dummy paper.
Moreover, since the alleged stolen property has been seized by the authorities, there is no further need for investigation to trace the seized item, the counsel submitted.
Since all the witnesses and complainant are officers, there is no possibility of influencing them by the accused person, the Counsel added. It was further submitted that the accused is a first-time offender and he is the sole bread earner of his family, thereby detaining him in judicial custody will result in hardship to his family, children and to his old aged mother.
The additional public prosecutor for the state submitted that the accused was identified through the help of CCTV footage installed in the strong room, and the court may decide the intention of the accused after watching the CCTV footage which is yet to be collected.
