The Chitwan District Court has fined representatives of the then CPN (Maoist Center) Madhukar Neupane and Drona Shiwakoti rs 100,000 each for tearing ballots during the counting of votes after the local election in Bharatpur Metropolitan City.
Registrar at the court Rudra Mani Giri said a bench of district judge Murari Babu Shrestha has ordered the punishment for the main accused on Monday.
The bench of Shrestha on June 14 had found the duo guilty of tearing the ballots. The bench decided on the quantum of punishment on Monday as per the provision of announcing guilt and punishment separately under the new Civil Code.
The duo could have been fined up to Rs 100,000 each or jailed for up to two years or both as per the Election Offense and Punishment Act.
Police had arrested the two Maoist cadres after they tore the ballots on May 28, 2017 and lodged a case in the district court. They were later released on bail.
The Maoist representatives had allegedly torn 90 ballot papers at midnight on May 28 during the vote counting. Counting in 27 wards out of the 29 had been completed and counting of Ward 19 was underway at that time. CPN-UML's Devi Gyawali was leading Maoist Center’s Renu Dahal, daughter of the then Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, by around 700 votes with votes of the ward and Ward 20 remaining to be counted.
The Election Commission on June 3 decided to conduct re-election in Ward 19.
The decision was upheld by the Supreme Court on July 31, and re-election in the concerned ward was held on August 4, 2017.
Dahal defeated CPN-UML’s Gyawali by 203 votes following reelection in the ward.
