WhatsApp chat on poll between two bureaucrats goes viral

A WhatsApp chat between Shahdol district collector and her deputy, in which the former purportedly asked the latter to ensure the BJP's victory in an assembly seat here, has gone viral on social media platforms.

Police have registered a case against an unidentified person after the controversial WhatsApp text messages between collector Anubha Shrivastava and her deputy Puja Tiwari went viral, an official said.

The incident prompted the ruling Congress to declare that it would seek re-polling in the Jaitpur constituency, which it lost in the November 28 assembly polls.

Deputy collector Tiwari has lodged a complaint with the Kotwali police station here, alleging the messages in question were "fake".

Acting on the complaint, the unidentified accused has been booked.

"The unidentified accused was booked under IT Act on Wednesday on the complaint of Tiwari and investigations are underway," district additional superintendent of police (ASP) Praveen Bhuria said.

The screen shots of messages showed Shrivastava purportedly asking Tiwari to help the BJP win elections from Jaitpur when it was trailing hours before the result was announced on December 11.

The collector's purported message reads that if Tiwari helps the BJP, she would be paid back with the post of Sub- Divisional Magistrate (SDM).

"We are going to write to Election Commission to remove the collector and hold a re-poll in Jaitpur," district senior Congress leader and former MLA Rampal Singh told reporters Friday.

"We want re-poll in Jaitpur. The incident is very serious," he added.

Shrivastava was not available for comments despite repeated phone calls.