BJP corporator held in Hyderabad for circulating old video with false claim

Hyderabad, May 15 : The Hyderabad cybercrime police on Thursday arrested a BJP corporator and four others for circulating an old video clip of alleged rigging in a polling booth on social media, claiming that there were irregularities in the recently conducted Lok Sabha elections in Telangana.

Malkajgiri corporator Sravan Vurapalli and three others were arrested by the police, a day after the election officials lodged a complaint about the circulation of an old video clip with a false claim.

The office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) had on Wednesday clarified that the video clip does not pertain to any elections in the state, adding that the polling process in the state was conducted in a free and fair manner.

Some persons while circulating the video had claimed that it pertains to a polling booth in the Bahadurpura Assembly segment in Hyderabad during the Lok Sabha elections held on Monday.

The clip shows people going into the voter compartment one after the other with the presiding officer and another poll official facilitating the alleged rigging.

A beep sound, like that of an EVM, is heard every time a person exits the compartment.

The CEO said it is an old clip that is not linked to the elections in Telangana. The video was first shared on the YouTube channel TV9 Bangla on February 27, 2022.