Man posing as poll strategist Kishor seeks ₹11L from BJP leader, held

HISAR: Hansi police have arrested a man from Chandigarh for impersonating election strategist Prashant Kishor and demanding ₹11 lakh from a BJP leader for pushing his candidature for Haryana assembly polls.

The accused has been identified as Gaurav, who was arrested from a hotel in Chandigarh in a joint operation.

The police have taken him back to Hansi.

The accused will be produced in a local court.

BJP leader Rajesh Thakral on Saturday said, “On September 15, I received a call from a man who introduced himself as Prashant Kishor and started giving me advice on how to propose my name to the chief minister.”

Thakral claimed that he told him that he was given the charge to conduct survey of all 90 assembly segments to find out the names of candidates.

“That person told me that he had found me as the perfect candidate for an MLA ticket. On Friday, he gave me an address in Chandigarh and demanded ₹11 lakh to propose my name to Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. The matter was brought to the knowledge of Hansi police, who further formed a team and arrested the accused from a hotel in Chandigarh,” he added.

NABBED IN JOINT OPERATION

Confirming the development, Hansi deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Rohtash Kumar said, “Soon after getting information about the call, we constituted a team and nabbed the accused from the given location. The Chandigarh Police were also roped in for the joint operation.”