DMK candidates rush to GCT after two allegedly suspicious vehicles enter college premises
Coimbatore: Voting machines that were used for the 10 constituencies in the Coimbatore Assembly Elections have been stored inside the Government College of Technology (GCT) campus on Thadagam Road amidst tight security, with each room being sealed. With vote counting to kickstart on May 2, five-tier police security has been put in place inside the GCT college campus, around the clock with police teams on duty, on a rotational basis.
A mobile van and another van were allowed entry into the GCT college campus around 10 pm on Tuesday night. On seeing this, wary DMK executives on duty at the campus informed DMK candidates N Karthik, Shanmugasundaram and Congress candidate Mayura Jayakumar. The candidates immediately rushed to the GCT college campus accompanied by party cadres. They enquired with the Sub-Inspector on duty about the vans that had entered the campus and were informed by the Sub-Inspector that the mobile van which had an attached toilet had been brought for female guards who were on duty inside the campus.
The two vans were then immediately inspected by the party candidates and the cadres. After confirming that there were no items inside them, especially voting machines and related items, the candidates questioned the police officials on security duty as to why there was no access for women police officials to toilets inside the college premises. They also questioned the poilce officials on why the mobile van had suddenly entered the premises, where was the driver of the van and whether the District Collector, the Election Officer had granted permission for the vans to enter the campus. Since the police had no satisfactory answers to the queries raised, the candidates demanded that both vans need to be moved out of the campus immediately.
Later, the candidates and the party members dispersed only after both vans were sent out of the GCT campus. Recognised agents of all political party candidates are constantly engaged in security duty along with the police officials on the campus. As a result of this incident, there was commotion at the entrance of GCT college for almost two hours.
A mobile van and another van were allowed entry into the GCT college campus around 10 pm on Tuesday night. On seeing this, wary DMK executives on duty at the campus informed DMK candidates N Karthik, Shanmugasundaram and Congress candidate Mayura Jayakumar. The candidates immediately rushed to the GCT college campus accompanied by party cadres. They enquired with the Sub-Inspector on duty about the vans that had entered the campus and were informed by the Sub-Inspector that the mobile van which had an attached toilet had been brought for female guards who were on duty inside the campus.
The two vans were then immediately inspected by the party candidates and the cadres. After confirming that there were no items inside them, especially voting machines and related items, the candidates questioned the police officials on security duty as to why there was no access for women police officials to toilets inside the college premises. They also questioned the poilce officials on why the mobile van had suddenly entered the premises, where was the driver of the van and whether the District Collector, the Election Officer had granted permission for the vans to enter the campus. Since the police had no satisfactory answers to the queries raised, the candidates demanded that both vans need to be moved out of the campus immediately.
Later, the candidates and the party members dispersed only after both vans were sent out of the GCT campus. Recognised agents of all political party candidates are constantly engaged in security duty along with the police officials on the campus. As a result of this incident, there was commotion at the entrance of GCT college for almost two hours.