Nearly five years have passed and another general election has arrived,but little has progressed in the case in which senior BJP leader Lalji Tandon was booked under criminal charges on the orders of the Election Commission. Back in 2004,during the Lok Sabha polls,Tandons role in the distribution of sarees,which led to the death of 22 women in a stampede in Lucknow,came under the EC scanner. In February 2005,the police chargesheeted Tandon and three others for bribery during the elections. But the case is still languishing and Tandon has never appeared before the court. Interestingly,Tandons son and representative Gopalji Tandon claimed that two years ago,his father had been acquitted in the case on the first hearing itself,and the case may be pending against the other accused. Squashing Gopaljis claims,District Government Counsel RS Dwivedi said: The case is still pending against Tandon. He has never appeared before the court and no warrant has been issued so far as the hearing is extended on the request of defence lawyers. Tandon was the then representative of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee who was contesting as the BJP candidate from Lucknow. The distribution of sarees was organised on April 12,2004 seven days before the first phase of polling. The event was organised at Chandra Shekhar Azad Park in Mahanagar and a large number of women turned up,which led to the stampede. Tandon was the chief guest at the event,which was organised by Brijendra Murari Yadav,a history-sheeter. The then Chief Electoral Officer,Vijay Kumar Sharma,immediately lodged an FIR against Tandon,Yadav and others under Section 171 (B) of IPC offering gratification for votes at the Mahanagar police station. Another FIR was lodged by the then Station House Officer of Mahanagar police station RN Singh against Yadav and two of his aides,Manoj Singh and Dhyan Singh,under Sections 338 and 304 (A) IPC for causing grievous hurt,endangering life,and culpable homicide. Tandon was not named in this case because he had left before the stampede took place. Asked about the progress of the case against Tandon,Mahanagar police station SHO Virendra Singh said: The case is pending in the court. Chief Electoral Officer AK Bishnoi was not sure about the status of the case. Probably,a final report was submitted into the charges against Tandon, he said. Lucknow District Magistrate Chandra Bhanu and the Deputy Inspector General NK Srivastava said that they knew nothing about the case. The other case against Yadav and his men,in which the chargesheet was filed on June 20,2004,is also pending. Another case against BJP leaders hits the wallJust before the 2007 Assembly polls,a case was registered against BJP national president Rajnath Singh and senior BJP leader Lalji Tandon on the Election Commissions order for bringing out a compact disc with inflammatory content. Almost two years later,the investigation is far from complete. Circle Officer of Hazratganj,BS Garbyal,who is investigating into the case,said the investigation has not yet reached a conclusive stage. Chief Electoral Officer AK Bishnoi,who had lodged the FIR,said: The Commission had recently asked for a report into the developments in the 2007 CD case. The report recently sent by the Lucknow District Magistrate states that the case is still under investigation by the police. While Bishnois FIR,lodged on April 6,named Rajnath Singh,Lalji Tandon,the producer and distributor of the CD,another FIR was lodged by the Station House Officer of Hazratganj police station against unnamed office bearers of the state BJP on April 5. It was alleged that Tandon and Rajnath had got a CD made,which contained material that could promote enmity between different groups on grounds of religion,caste,and jeopardise communal harmony. The other charge was that they were committing deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings. The accused were charged under Sections 123 and 125 of the Representation of the People Act. The then Circle Officer of Hazratganj,BP Ashok,had investigated into the case and even drafted the chargesheets,but the documents were returned thrice to Ashok for reinvestigation from the office of the Superintendent of Police (East). Finally,SP (East) sent the cases along with chargesheets to the senior superintendent of police of Lucknow on January 29,2008 after the state government recommended that the investigation be handed over to the CBI. But the CBI refused to take over the case. The file,however,remained with the Home Department until the EC inquired about the case recently. Regarding the status of the case,Lucknow Deputy Inspector General NK Srivastava,said: The CO of Hazratganj has been probing into the case and no significant development has taken place as yet.
