Vikram Singh EXCLUSIVE on Silent Booth Capturing, Liquor Smuggling Amid Elections in Bihar

Asianet News English

In this Asianet News EXCLUSIVE, Former Uttar Pradesh DGP Dr. Vikram Singh reveals how silent booth capturing has become a subtle art in Bihar's elections and exposes the rampant illegal liquor smuggling used to manipulate voters. He warns about the serious violation of the Election and Representative Peoples Act through illicit gifting, especially liquor, which remains a major offense. Dr. Singh appeals to district officers and election observers to strictly enforce the Model Code of Conduct to ensure free and fair elections.&nbsp;

Transcript

00:00we have elections happening next month and you know the same story i think will pan out this

00:06time also there will be elections there will be voting and then there will be reports of boot

00:10capturing heena let me tell you that boot capturing is a thing of the past now but it happened more so

00:15in 80s and 90s but we still see incidents of it happening now what you have is a silent boot

00:20capture silent boot capturing you know how it happens bribe money gifts like sadis liquor

00:30and these are things this is silent boot capture now you have the technology you have cctvs you have

00:36election commission officers at all levels now you have the social media you have the print media and

00:42the social media has been the biggest death knell of all boot capture but old habits die hard nobody

00:49can prevent the gifts of sadis suit links liquor and money that also is a way of boot capturing

00:55appealing in the name of caste and communal matters that also is boot capturing but those days

01:03where people would go and 20 people would go to the booth and stamp all the those days are over

01:08so today you see it has been perfected into a very subtle art of managing people and not only i would

01:17say manipulating the mindset and the thinking process through illegitimate gift because under the election

01:23and represent people's act giving of liquor giving of gifts giving of such gifts also is a crime is

01:30an offense and therefore i would appeal to the district officers and the election commission

01:35observers to see to it that the model code of conduct is scrupulously followed no gifts exchange

01:41hands especially liquor etc do not reach the electorate and those who are supposed to vote so during

01:47elections do you think that the illegal smuggling of liquor uh you know increases because we have

01:54these kind of activities taking place you see unfortunately what you say are very prophetic

02:00there has been very large number of recovery of illegitimate liquor along the up-bihar border

02:06in the recent days if you just see the statistics of the last 30 days you see that recovery of

02:11illegitimate liquor contraband liquor on the up-bihar border has gone up manifold you know why only

02:18because of the fact that it is being smuggled into bihar so as to be distributed to the electorate

02:23then if we know that this happens during elections then why is nothing happening in these border

02:30of course things are that is why these things are being recovered had things not been happening they

02:34would not have been recovered and they would not have been caught but then how are people emboldened to

02:39do this if we have right it makes a lot of money you see even tatas and virlas and adani the nambanis

02:45cannot have this level profit they convert 100 rupee note into 2 000 rupees as the smuggling of

02:50illegitimate liquor is spurious liquor is and also transporting liquor from up into a state that is

02:56going into elections that makes means a lot of money first they would try to win over the excise and

03:01the police officials if they're unable to then the police and the excise officers will challenge them

03:06recover them and that is what the exercise of the proactive effort has yielded results and i would

03:12compliment both the up and the bihar police for recovering unprecedented amount of illicit liquor

03:18so is it happening under any sort of joint operation or is it happening with both sides it always happens

03:24individually also but when there's an election there are joint operations joint sharing of intelligence

03:29and joint rates also i don't deny the fact that some of the liquor will not be taken away by them

03:36or misused by the local police officer i also accept the fact but 90 percent of the liquor will be

03:42displayed and declared as a contraband and almost 100 percent but in one or two cases if this does

03:49happen i don't deny the possibility but the police leadership now everything is done you know what the

03:53advantage of having a mobile phone with of course people taking making videos social media and some

04:00very very adventurous and proactive police officers what they do is to take journalists wrong also they

04:05make videos of the entire raid and the arrest and the recovery there is no escape from that because

04:10everything is uh into the media then immediately in real time

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