An Indian MP Ravindra Waikar's brother-in-law Mangesh Pandilkar has been booked after allegedly using a mobile phone to 'unlock' EVM at a vote counting centre on June 4,&nbsp;reports said citing police.&nbsp;

However, Returning Officer Vandana Suryavanshi on Sunday (June 16) rubbished the claims of EVM tampering with phone and said, "It is a technically foolproof standalone device. There is no provision for wireless or wired communication with it."&nbsp;

Notably, the results of India's Lok Sabha Elections were announced on June 4, where Mumbai North West Lok Sabha candidate and Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Waikar narrowly won by 48 votes against&nbsp;Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Amol Kirtikar.&nbsp;

The allegations of using phones inside the counting centre by Waikar's relative has been&nbsp;in focus for a while.&nbsp;Now&nbsp;a&nbsp;report in an&nbsp;Indian daily Mid-day on Sunday (June 16) has&nbsp;claimed that&nbsp;Pandilkar's mobile phone was connected to an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).

The report while quoting a police official said that the mobile phone was used for potentially generating the OTP needed to unlock the EVM machine. This incident reportedly occurred at the NESCO Centre during vote counting.

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In the latest development in the matter, the mobile phone of&nbsp;Pandilkar has&nbsp;been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for data and call record analysis.

"We are also checking if the mobile phone was used for any other reason," the Mid-day report quoted a Vanrai police as saying.

At the time election results were announced, Kirtikar, reports claimed, purpotedly requested a vote recount that was&nbsp;not permitted.

Now, Waikar's relative Pandilkar actions inside the Goregaon counting centre, which falls within Waikar's constituency has come under scrutiny.&nbsp;

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"Pandilkar was booked on the complaint of polling personnel Dinesh Gurav. An independent candidate noticed the former using a mobile phone despite a ban on such devices at the counting centre and alerted the returning officer. The RO, in turn, approached Vanrai police," said&nbsp;a police official as quoted by news agency PTI.

The charges against Pandilkar include disobeying official orders under Indian Penal Code section 188, as per the official.&nbsp;

<h2>Accusations against Waikar, no CCTV available&nbsp;</h2>

Shiv Sena (UBT) earlier issued a disqualification notice to then-MLA Ravindra Waikar, who defected from the party in March 2024 to join the Eknath Shinde-led Sena and subsequently ran as their Lok Sabha candidate from Mumbai North West.

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Waikar, as per reports, was accused of using BMC land reserved for gardens to construct a luxury hotel and was implicated in a Rs 500 crore ($59 mn) scam. He switched allegiance a day after Amol Kirtikar was announced as the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate for the same constituency.&nbsp;

Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray had alleged that “the Entirely Compromised- election commission has refused to share CCTV footage of the counting centre." “I guess it’s trying to avoid another Chandigarh moment...Once a traitor, always a traitor!" he added.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

An Indian MP Ravindra Waikar's brother-in-law Mangesh Pandilkar has been booked after allegedly using a mobile phone to 'unlock' EVM at a vote counting centre on June 4, reports said citing police.

An Indian MP Ravindra Waikar's brother-in-law Mangesh Pandilkar has been booked after allegedly using a mobile phone to 'unlock' EVM at a vote counting centre on June 4, reports said citing police. However, Returning Officer Vandana Suryavanshi on Sunday (June 16) rubbished the claims of EVM tampering with phone and said, "It is a technically foolproof standalone device. There is no provision for wireless or wired communication with it." Notably, the results of India's Lok Sabha Elections were announced on June 4, where Mumbai North West Lok Sabha candidate and Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Waikar narrowly won by 48 votes against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Amol Kirtikar. The allegations of using phones inside the counting centre by Waikar's relative has been in focus for a while. Now a report in an Indian daily Mid-day on Sunday (June 16) has claimed that Pandilkar's mobile phone was connected to an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). The report while quoting a police official said that the mobile phone was used for potentially generating the OTP needed to unlock the EVM machine. This incident reportedly occurred at the NESCO Centre during vote counting. Also Read | No respite for Delhi as unprecedented heat continues; IMD issues red warning In the latest development in the matter, the mobile phone of Pandilkar has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for data and call record analysis. "We are also checking if the mobile phone was used for any other reason," the Mid-day report quoted a Vanrai police as saying. At the time election results were announced, Kirtikar, reports claimed, purpotedly requested a vote recount that was not permitted. Now, Waikar's relative Pandilkar actions inside the Goregaon counting centre, which falls within Waikar's constituency has come under scrutiny. Also Read | Kangana Ranaut gushes over PM Narendra Modi and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni's viral 'Melodi' video "Pandilkar was booked on the complaint of polling personnel Dinesh Gurav. An independent candidate noticed the former using a mobile phone despite a ban on such devices at the counting centre and alerted the returning officer. The RO, in turn, approached Vanrai police," said a police official as quoted by news agency PTI. The charges against Pandilkar include disobeying official orders under Indian Penal Code section 188, as per the official. Accusations against Waikar, no CCTV available Shiv Sena (UBT) earlier issued a disqualification notice to then-MLA Ravindra Waikar, who defected from the party in March 2024 to join the Eknath Shinde-led Sena and subsequently ran as their Lok Sabha candidate from Mumbai North West. Watch | Indian doctors migrate to the US | US: More rules for Presidential debate | WION Headlines × Waikar, as per reports, was accused of using BMC land reserved for gardens to construct a luxury hotel and was implicated in a Rs 500 crore ($59 mn) scam. He switched allegiance a day after Amol Kirtikar was announced as the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate for the same constituency. Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray had alleged that “the Entirely Compromised- election commission has refused to share CCTV footage of the counting centre." “I guess it’s trying to avoid another Chandigarh moment...Once a traitor, always a traitor!" he added. (With inputs from agencies)

EVM unlocked with phone? Mumbai MP Waikar's relative faces serious allegations

Counting underway in UK general election. According to exit poll may be this is the worst ever result for Labour party.

Counting underway in UK general election

Prime Minister <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/police-trying-to-wipe-out-evidence-of-statue-desecration-modi-219198">Narendra Modi has carefully avoided speaking on the issue</a> of corruption during the campaign, but we have not allowed him to escape, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said Thursday, claiming it will be "bye-bye" for him on May 23.

Addressing a rally in the Pataliputra Lok Sabha segment, from where Misa Bharti daughter of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad is in the fray, Gandhi attacked Modi for skirting questions on promises he had made like Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of all poor and creation of two crore jobs.

Asserting that the ruling BJP was headed for a defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress chief claimed Modi would get a befitting reply from the people angry over his failure to fulfil promises made five years ago when votes in the current elections are counted on May 23.

In a veiled attack on the<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/obama-asks-the-same-says-pm-modi-when-akshay-kumar-asked-how-do-you-sleep-for-just-3-hours-213049"> interviews given by the prime minister, including the one to the Bollywood star Akshay Kumar</a>, Gandhi said questions and answers are choreographed to skirt the issue of his promises. All that we hear from Modi ji these days are inanities like how he eats a mango and why he wears half-sleeved kurtas.

Repeating the slogan of Chowkidar chor hai which has rankled the BJP, Gandhi said Modi must answer the questions we have been raising with regard to the Rafale deal. Why he got the contract awarded to Anil Ambani, why he agreed to pay much more for the fighter aircraft than what earlier had been agreed to and why Rafale would not be manufactured in India. He owes an answer to the nation on these counts.

Modi has travelled the entire country for his campaign, addressing rallies with the help of teleprompters. He has carefully avoided speaking on the issue of corruption. But we have not allowed him to escape. My challenge to him for an open debate on corruption still stands. He has been badly exposed and, on May 23, it will be bye-bye for him, Gandhi said.

Speaking about his proposed NYAY scheme, Gandhi said financial assistance of Rs 72,000 per year to poor families would boost demand, leading to setting up of more industries and in turn fueling production and creation of jobs. It will propel the economy like diesel propels a tractor.

Gandhi also accused Modi of making Bihar a berozgaari (unemployment) ka centre and charged the Nitish Kumar government in the state with failure to provide relief to farmers through measures like a waiver of loans unlike in Congress-ruled states where it has been given top priority.

The Congress president, who toured the state in the first four phases of elections but skipped the next two, urged the people to vote for Misa Bharti, showering praises on her father serving sentences in fodder scam cases for his fight for social justice.

Earlier, Bharti younger brother Tejashwi Yadav, who has emerged as the party's de facto leader in their fathers' absence, called the BJP candidate Ram Kripal Yadav paltu chacha no. 2 (turncoat number two).

Yadav has been using the epithet paltu for Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar whose exit from the Mahagathbandhan two years ago made the RJD lose power in the state and stripped him of the Deputy CMs post.

Ram Kripal Yadav, now a Union minister, was a close aide of Lalu Prasad, who quit the RJD to join BJP ahead of the 2014 parliamentary elections and won from Pataliputra seat defeating Misa.

In a show of unity within the jailed RJD chiefs family, his wife Rabri Devi and elder son Tej Pratap Yadav too attended the rally where other leaders of the opposition alliance like former Union minister and RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha besides ex-CM and HAM founding president Jitan Ram Manjhi were also present.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has carefully avoided speaking on the issue of corruption during the campaign, but we have not allowed him to escape, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said Thursday, claiming it will be "bye-bye" for him on May 23.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has carefully avoided speaking on the issue of corruption during the campaign, but we have not allowed him to escape, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said Thursday, claiming it will be "bye-bye" for him on May 23. Addressing a rally in the Pataliputra Lok Sabha segment, from where Misa Bharti daughter of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad is in the fray, Gandhi attacked Modi for skirting questions on promises he had made like Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of all poor and creation of two crore jobs. Asserting that the ruling BJP was headed for a defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress chief claimed Modi would get a befitting reply from the people angry over his failure to fulfil promises made five years ago when votes in the current elections are counted on May 23. In a veiled attack on the interviews given by the prime minister, including the one to the Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, Gandhi said questions and answers are choreographed to skirt the issue of his promises. All that we hear from Modi ji these days are inanities like how he eats a mango and why he wears half-sleeved kurtas. Repeating the slogan of Chowkidar chor hai which has rankled the BJP, Gandhi said Modi must answer the questions we have been raising with regard to the Rafale deal. Why he got the contract awarded to Anil Ambani, why he agreed to pay much more for the fighter aircraft than what earlier had been agreed to and why Rafale would not be manufactured in India. He owes an answer to the nation on these counts. Modi has travelled the entire country for his campaign, addressing rallies with the help of teleprompters. He has carefully avoided speaking on the issue of corruption. But we have not allowed him to escape. My challenge to him for an open debate on corruption still stands. He has been badly exposed and, on May 23, it will be bye-bye for him, Gandhi said. Speaking about his proposed NYAY scheme, Gandhi said financial assistance of Rs 72,000 per year to poor families would boost demand, leading to setting up of more industries and in turn fueling production and creation of jobs. It will propel the economy like diesel propels a tractor. Gandhi also accused Modi of making Bihar a berozgaari (unemployment) ka centre and charged the Nitish Kumar government in the state with failure to provide relief to farmers through measures like a waiver of loans unlike in Congress-ruled states where it has been given top priority. The Congress president, who toured the state in the first four phases of elections but skipped the next two, urged the people to vote for Misa Bharti, showering praises on her father serving sentences in fodder scam cases for his fight for social justice. Earlier, Bharti younger brother Tejashwi Yadav, who has emerged as the party's de facto leader in their fathers' absence, called the BJP candidate Ram Kripal Yadav paltu chacha no. 2 (turncoat number two). Yadav has been using the epithet paltu for Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar whose exit from the Mahagathbandhan two years ago made the RJD lose power in the state and stripped him of the Deputy CMs post. Ram Kripal Yadav, now a Union minister, was a close aide of Lalu Prasad, who quit the RJD to join BJP ahead of the 2014 parliamentary elections and won from Pataliputra seat defeating Misa. In a show of unity within the jailed RJD chiefs family, his wife Rabri Devi and elder son Tej Pratap Yadav too attended the rally where other leaders of the opposition alliance like former Union minister and RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha besides ex-CM and HAM founding president Jitan Ram Manjhi were also present.

On May 23 it will be 'bye-bye' for Modi, claims Rahul at Bihar rally