The Sessions Court here has dismissed the anticipatory bail application of Balwinder Singh, a Booth Level Officer (BLO) with the Election Commission of India, who was booked in a case related to the use of electronic cheating devices during the written examination for the post of Pharmacy Officer conducted by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot on July 19.Sessions Judge Sanjay Agnihotri, rejected the plea filed by Balwinder Singh, a resident of Chhanga Rai Uttar village in Ferozepur, holding that his custodial interrogation was required for a fair and effective probe, and that he was not entitled to the discretionary relief of pre-arrest bail.The case stems from an FIR registered on July 20 at the Cyber Crime Police Station, Faridkot, under Sections 318(4), 61(2) and 112 of the BNS and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, on a complaint by Navdeep Singh Sethi, Centre Superintendent of examination Centre in Faridkot.According to the complaint, candidates appearing for the recruitment examination for the post of Pharmacy Officer under the Punjab Department of Health and Family Welfare were frisked as per rules, during which a candidate bearing Roll No. 432490 was found in possession of a Bluetooth cheating device comprising a receiver and a miniature earpiece, apparently meant to be used for unfair means. Police, led by the SHO City Faridkot, reached the centre, re-frisked the candidate and took him into custody along with the recovered device.Subsequently, similar complaints were received from other examination centres, leading to recovery of electronic devices and headsets from candidates identified as Kulwinder Singh, Sandeep Kumar, Gursewak Singh, Lovepreet Singh and Satnam Singh. The FIR was registered against these candidates and investigation was taken up.During custodial interrogation of the co-accused, Balwinder Singh’s name reportedly surfaced, following which he was nominated as an accused in the case on July 26.In his bail plea, Singh claimed he had been falsely implicated and that his name did not figure in the original FIR. He submitted that he was on election duty at village Chhuge Kishore Singh Wala alias Chak Bhange Wala under Vidhan Sabha Halqa-77, Ferozepur Rural, for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being conducted by the Election Commission of India, at a distance of 60-70 km from the examination centre, and had no connection with any of the candidates. His counsel argued that nothing was to be recovered from him and that he was ready to join the investigation.Opposing the plea, Additional Public Prosecutor argued on behalf of the State. After hearing both sides, the court held that since the applicant had been named on the basis of disclosures made by co-accused candidates, his custodial interrogation was necessary, and dismissed the application.