Uttar Pradesh Electoral Officers Suspended Amid Irregularities
Suspension of Electoral Registration Officers
A file image of Election Commission of India (Photo:X)
New Delhi, Nov 1: The Election Commission has ordered the suspension of two Electoral Registration Officers in the Pilibhit Assembly constituency of Uttar Pradesh due to alleged discrepancies in the electoral roll.
In a communication sent to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, the Commission instructed that Mayank Goswami and Hemant Chaudhary, the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), be suspended immediately.
They are required to submit their chargesheets for the Commission's review, and reinstatement will not be permitted without prior consent from the Commission.
The electoral authority has also mandated that Section 198 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, be incorporated into the existing FIR against the two officers and Anil Kumar, a computer operator at a voter registration center. The Commission emphasized the need for thorough investigation of their cases.
This situation arose following allegations from opposition parties, particularly the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP), regarding extensive manipulation of the electoral roll.
Previously, Uttar Pradesh's Chief Electoral Officer, Navdeep Rinwa, had instructed district election officers to deactivate the ECINET portal IDs of computer assistants at voter registration centers statewide, in response to complaints about potential misuse of login credentials in Pilibhit.
District election officers have also been tasked with confirming the deactivation of the login IDs of computer assistants working under them.
The actions taken are a result of an investigation into irregularities involving 10,470 voter entries in the 127-Pilibhit Assembly constituency.
The inquiry revealed that a computer assistant allegedly misused login IDs on the ECINET portal, submitting 13,779 Form-8 applications for changes in voter information between May 31 and August 29, with 10,470 approved and 3,309 rejected.
However, no application forms or supporting documents related to these entries were located in the office.
District election officers have been instructed to verify the actions taken in all Assembly constituencies and promptly submit compliance reports to the CEO's office, as stated in an official announcement.
Additionally, the CEO has directed the relevant firm to terminate the services of the outsourced computer assistant allegedly involved in the irregularities concerning the 127-Pilibhit Assembly constituency.