Patiala, Dec. 5 -- With Patiala Police facing allegations of conspiring to stop opposition candidates from filing papers, multiple incidents of obstruction and snatching of nomination documents were reported across the district on the last day of the filing of nominations for the Block Samiti and Zila Parishad elections scheduled for December 14. The elections are scheduled to be held across 23 Zila Parishad seats and 184 zones of 10 Block Samitis. In several blocks of Patiala district, torn nomination forms belonging to opposition candidates were found scattered on roads, deepening the political storm over the conduct of the election process. In one of the videos from Ghanour that has gone viral on social media, a female Congress candidate, Jonny Devi, was allegedly stopped and attacked on her way to the nomination centre. An unidentified individual purportedly snatched her nomination papers and tore them in front of her. "The entire incident has been captured on camera. This is a classic example of how democracy is being murdered. I was not even allowed to submit my papers," Devi said, alleging that police personnel present at the scene did little to intervene. Former Congress MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur also accused the ruling dispensation and the police machinery of acting at the behest of AAP leaders. "Only AAP-backed candidates were allowed a smooth entry for filing nominations. This is not how elections are conducted in a democracy. The system was completely hijacked," he said. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring also condemned the alleged targeted disruption in Ghanour. "The biggest crime in a democracy is snatching nomination papers and preventing citizens from exercising their right to contest. What happened today is not democracy; it is hooliganism being carried out openly," he said. Divisional commissioner and election observer Vinay Bublani confirmed that the administration had taken note of the said incident in Ghanour. "We are already looking into the matter. An FIR will be registered," he said. In other incidents reported from across the district, in Samana, an independent candidate, Surinder Kaur, had her papers taken away by an unidentified person and destroyed when she was standing in a queue. In Nabha, Congress candidate Gurmeet Kaur's documents were allegedly snatched from inside the nomination office. In the Shambhu block, an opposition candidate, Satnam Singh, claimed that individuals "associated with the ruling AAP" were granted access into the centre, while opposition nominees were specifically targeted and their papers were torn. In the Sanour block of the district, violence erupted after nomination papers of opposition candidates were allegedly snatched and torn. Additional district election officer Damanjit Singh Mann said that 102 candidates filed their nominations on the final day for the Zila Parishad, taking the total number of nominations to 148. Meanwhile, 647 nominations were submitted for various Block Samiti seats, raising the overall count to 786. Tension flared in Dera Baba Nanak on the last day for filing Block Committee nominations with Congress and AAP workers coming face-to-face outside the SDM office amid heavy police presence. This led to a scuffle between workers of both political parties. AAP MLA from Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdeep Singh Randhawa, and MP Sukhjinder Randhawa's son Udayveer, were also present at the spot. Congress workers raised slogans against the Aam Aadmi Party and the police. Gurmej Singh from Dargabad, who had come to file his nomination, said that AAP workers, already present inside the office, quarrelled with him, snatched his papers, removed his turban, and even took it away with them. "AAP workers openly indulged in hooliganism. During the chaos, the turbans of former block committee chairman Narinder Singh Bajwa and Bhagwan Singh were tossed," he said. AAP MLA Gurdeep Singh Randhawa refuted charges against his party and said that Congress has a long-standing habit of indulging in hooliganism. "If someone is coming to file a nomination, they should come alone-why are they coming with a whole crowd? The clash started due to Congress workers, not AAP. In such a chaos, turbans are bound to come off," he said. Udayveer Randhawa, son of MP Sukhjinder Randhawa, said that AAP workers beat up Gurmeet Singh, a Congress worker from Dargabad, snatched his documents, and removed his turban before taking it away. Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sucha Singh Langah also alleged that the AAP workers tore up and threw away the nomination file of their candidate from Shahpur, William Masih. SDM Aditya Sharma of Dera Baba Nanak said that a total of 74 nomination papers have been filed across 19 zones.Batala SSP Mehtab Singh said that a clash took place between the two parties during the nomination process, and an investigation will be conducted after hearing both sides. He said the police are looking into the matter thoroughly. : Punjab state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar on Thursday alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party, which is a part of the Congress-led INDIA alliance at the Centre and falsely accuses the saffron party of vote theft, is itself preparing to steal the entire election in Punjab by openly misusing the police. In a statement, Jakhar said the government machinery is being blatantly misused for this purpose, which is why the BJP had met the election commission yesterday and demanded videography of these elections. "The audio clip of a tele-meeting of senior police officers, regarding the use of force in elections, is a proof of the damage being caused to democracy," Jakhar said....