FIR against BJP MLC in Leh bribery case

An FIR was registered against BJP leader and MLC Vikram Randhawa for allegedly trying to bribe journalists in Leh, officials said Thursday.

However, Randhawa termed the allegations as baseless and said the Congress was trying to malign the image of the BJP.

District Election Officer (DEO) and Deputy Commissioner of Leh Avny Lavasa told PTI that only Randhawa was named in the FIR.

The case was registered under Section 171E (Punishment for bribery) and 171F (Punishment for undue influence or personation at an election) of the Ranbir Panel Code (RPC) warranting investigation, she said.

The FIR was registered after the chief judicial magistrate of Leh directed police on Wednesday to launch a probe into the matter.

Randhawa, who is the BJP's Ladakh in-charge, said, "All allegations of Leh journalists are baseless and misleading. It was supported by anti-BJP elements in Kashmir and the Congress to malign the image of the party."
BJP's state unit chief Ravinder Raina supported a probe into the matter but also