(MENAFN- IANS) Muzaffarpur, Nov 9 (IANS) The Muzaffarpur administration has dismissed several media reports claiming that the murder of an elderly man in the district was linked to voting in the Bihar Assembly elections.

The incident occurred late Saturday evening in Patsara Ward 12 of Sakhaura Panchayat under the Hatta police station area, where a 70-year-old man, identified as Shankar Paswan, was beaten to death.

According to some media reports, family members of the deceased alleged that Paswan had voted for a particular political party on November 6 and was later threatened by supporters of a rival party for doing so. They reportedly told him that he had "voted in the wrong place" and would "face the consequences".

However, the Muzaffarpur administration categorically denied these claims, stating that the reports were "misleading" and "unfounded".

In an official statement, the administration said, "A news item stating, 'You have voted in the wrong place, you will have to face the consequences' (rough translation from Hindi) is being broadcast on various news channels. The veracity of this news has been investigated at a senior level. During the investigation and verification, it was found that the incident took place under the jurisdiction of Hatta police station."

The statement further clarified that a preliminary probe revealed the elderly man's death was not the result of a political fight but an accidental fall during a scuffle over plucking a leaf from a 'jalebi' tree.

"The incident is completely unrelated to the election or voting," the administration said.

"The incident being reported as election or vote-related has been found to be false. The misleading news being circulated on various news channels is completely baseless, without facts, and unfounded," it added.

The Muzaffarpur Police also reiterated that they have denied the reports.

Authorities emphasised that voting across the district was conducted in a "peaceful and safe environment" without any disturbances.

The administration has urged citizens to "ignore rumours and immediately report those spreading them to the police."

It is also informed that the Cyber Cell and Social Media Cell of the Muzaffarpur Police are continuously monitoring online platforms to prevent the spread of misinformation.

"All citizens are requested not to share any inflammatory, objectionable, or misleading posts without verifying their authenticity and to report any such activity to the police," the statement added.

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