Rajkot: In a dramatic development linked to the Bhavnagar civic body elections, the Congress’s city unit president has been booked for allegedly kidnapping his own party candidate and is believed to have been detained by police. The candidate at the centre of the row denied any kidnapping in a video on social media.The FIR was filed at Bor Talav police station on Wednesday by Shailesh Kambad, who alleged that his brother Bharat, the Congress candidate from the Vadva-A seat in Ward 8, had been missing since Tuesday. According to the FIR, Bharat expressed reluctance to contest the election but was pressured by Congress president Lalbha and another accused, Hardevsinh. It further claimed that his original documents were snatched away and he was kidnapped, confined and forced to sign documents. The complaint also alleged that he was forced to record and post a video on social media. The case has been registered under Sections 140(3), 142 and 54 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Meanwhile, a video of Bharat surfaced where he is seen seated with several people, including women. In the video, he says he was in Amreli voluntarily and was not kidnapped. After the police action, Congress activists and members of the Rajput community, protested outside the Bhavnagar superintendent of police’s office. Congress candidate Jaydevsinh Gohil said that while police registered a kidnapping case, the victim has publicly denied it. He accused the BJP of misusing the police to influence the election, claiming the ruling party feared defeat and was attempting to demoralize Congress workers by detaining their leader. Suprintendent of police Nitish Pandey said, “We have registered a complaint against the Congress city unit president based on a private person’s complaint. We issued him notice and summoned him for questioning. He may produce evidence in his favour during the investigation.”
