Hyderabad, May 16 (IANS): Election authorities in Telangana on Wednesday clarified that a video clip being circulated on social media with the claim of rigging during the Lok Sabha elections is from 2022 and also does not pertain to the state.

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has clarified that the polling process in the state was conducted in a free and fair manner.

His clarification came after a video was circulated on social media claiming that it pertains to a polling booth in the Bahadurpura Assembly segment in Hyderabad during the Lok Sabha elections held on Monday. The video clips show people going into the voter compartment one after the other, while the presiding officer and another poll official facilitate this alleged rigging.

A beep sound, like that of an EVM, is heard every time a person exits the compartment.

The CEO said that this is an old video not linked to the Parliamentary election in Telangana or to any other election in Telangana.

"Our attempts to go into the history of the video revealed that this video was shared on the YouTube channel TV9 Bangla, on 27th February 2022," said a statement from the CEO's office.

"If one listens to the audio carefully, it is clear that the language being spoken in the video is not Telugu. The poll process in the state was conducted in a free and fair manner," it said.