The probe committee formed to look into the incident of tearing ballot papers in course of vote counting in Bharatpur Metropolitan City has submitted its report to the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday. 

EC Spokesman Surya Prasad Sharma said the probe committee has registered its report at the Commission.

The Commission on Monday had formed the probe team under the headship of Joint Attorney General Gita Prasad Timsina to probe the tearing of ballot papers by CPN (Maoist Centre) cadres in Bharatpur on midnight Sunday.

Joint secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs Mahesh Acharya and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Kedarman Singh Bhandari are the members of the committee.

The team had arrived in Chitwan on Monday and began its work. It completed its task on Tuesday.

According to spokesman Sharma, the EC is in favour of settling the issue at the earliest.

"The election commissioners will most probably hold a meeting on this topic today itself and give a way out," he said.

Under Secretary Krishna Adhikari said that the team interviewed Chiefs of the local political parties, Chief Returning Officer, Chief District Officer, Chief of the District Police Office and Chief of the Armed Police Force team deployed at the vote counting centre.

Representatives of political parties present at the vote counting centre had reportedly torn the ballot papers while counting was underway in Bharatpur Metropolitan City Ward-19 at 11:45 pm on Sunday, forcing the Office of the Chief Returning Officer to suspend the counting.

Police have arrested two cadres of the CPN (Maoist Centre) for their alleged involvement in tearing the ballot papers.

The main opposition CPN-UML, whose mayoral candidate Devi Gyawali is leading the overall vote count in Bharatpur Metropolitan City, so far has demanded the EC resume the counting whereas the CPN (Maoist Centre) and the Nepali Congress have demanded re-election. The ruling NC and CPN (Maoist Centre) had forged electoral alliance in the metropolis. 

The Nepali Congress and the Maoist Centre have fielded Renu Dahal, daughter of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, as the mayoral candidate. RSS