In Madhya Pradesh's poppy hub, wanted criminals order BJP candidate to vote for party rebel

INDORE: Hours before poppy rich Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh witnesses the polls to elect district panchayat chairperson on Thursday, at least two dreaded drug smugglers and wanted criminals have put their weight behind the rebel BJP candidate Basant Sharma.
In a significant development just ahead of Thursday's poll, the official BJP candidate Gurwant Patidar lodged a case with Mandsaur police on Wednesday evening.Patidar alleged that two drug smugglers and wanted criminals Kamal Rana and Abdul Wasim Billaud threatened to kill him, if he failed to pay them Rs 3 crore as extortion and vote in favour of rebel BJP candidate Basant Sharma for the post of district panchayat chief on Thursday.
The investigations in the case which was lodged against three persons, including Padam Singh, Abdul Wasim Billaud and Kamal Rana at the YD Nagar police station, were transferred to Nahargarh police station later, SP Mandsaur Manoj Kumar Sharma told TOI.
The official BJP candidate Gurwant Patidar alleged that one Padam Singh, who recently lost village sarpanch polls from Nahargarh, met him on Wednesday evening. Padam asked Gurwant to sit in his car, but when Patidar refused to accompany him in the car, Padam made him talk over phone to dreaded criminals Kamal Rana and Abdul Wasim Billaud.
The duo criminals demanded Rs 3 crore extortion from Patidar and also asked him to vote for Basant Sharma, failing which Patidar would be eliminated.
"A case has been lodged against the three accused under Sections 384, 507 and 34 of IPC and Section 66 of Information and Technology Act and investigations are underway," the Mandsaur SP added.
Both Kamal Rana and Mohd Wasim Billaud are wanted criminals and poppy smugglers wanted in connection with several crimes in the poppy rich belt of Mandsaur-Neemuch in MP and adjoining districts of Rajasthan.
Among other cases, Wasim is wanted in connection with March 2014 sensational killing of two poppy trader siblings of Rajasthan.
The latest development is also being seen as a clear cut battle for supremacy between the Mandsaur BJP MP Sudhir Gupta and ex-MP minister and present Malhargarh BJP MLA Jagdish Dewra.
While Gurwant Patidar, the official BJP candidate for Thursday's district panchayat chief's poll is a close confidant of Mandsaur MP Sudhir Gupta, the party's rebel candidate Basant Sharma is considered close to the Malhargarh MLA.