KOZHIKODE: Kasaragod district crime branch (CB) issued a notice to BJP state president K Surendran, asking him to appear for questioning on Thursday in connection with the Manjeswaram election bribery case. CB had registered a case against Surendran in June accusing him of allegedly bribing his namesake candidate K Sundara to withdraw his candidature in the recently-held assembly election from Manjeswaram constituency.
Sundara, who filed his nomination as BSP’s candidate, had in his statement told the police that he was given Rs 2.5 lakh and a smartphone by BJP leaders to withdraw his nomination.
He told the police that he was initially threatened and kept in wrongful confinement for withdrawing his candidature. Sundara had allegedly named local BJP leaders Suresh Naik, Ashok Shetty and former Yuva Morcha state treasurer Sunil Naik for threatening and keeping him in wrongful confinement.
Acting on the complaint of LDF candidate VV Rameshan, police had, in June, registered a case against Surendran under IPC Sections 171 (B) (bribery involving giving a gratification to any person with the object of inducing him or any other person to exercise any electoral right or of rewarding any person for having exercised any such right) and 171 (E) (punishment for bribery).
Sundara contested as an independent candidate in 2016 assembly polls and secured 467 votes which saw Surendran losing by 89 votes. BSP district general secretary Vijayakumar B filed a police complaint after Sundara went incommunicado on March 20, stating that he suspected BJP workers were threatening Sundara to withdraw his nomination.
