The fate of Peterborough's ex-mayor and two other men standing trial for vote rigging now rests in the hands of a jury, sworn in on the second day of the case at King's Lynn Crown Court yesterday. A story in the Peterborough Evening Telegraph reports that it was alleged in court that the former mayor of the town, Mohammed Choudhary, defrauded election officers by submitting a false poll card and committed 10 other offences in respect of the 2004 local elections.Choudhary represented the Central ward for Labour until 2004 when he lost his seat. Joining him in the dock were Maqbool Hussein, accused of forging a poll card and Tariq Mahmood, similarly accused and also charged with 13 other electoral offences. All three pleaded not guilty.
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A word about evidence. Most of what people think is material evidence of a criminal offence is in fact either hearsay evidence (asserted, but without any proof) or circumstantial evidence (suggests guilt but does not prove it). For an introduction to the subject of evidence, try: