photo used for indicative purpose only.
Shimla, May 27
District administration in Shimla has suspended four members of a polling party with immediate effect for alleged negligence during the ongoing Panchayati Raj Institution elections in the district.
District Election Officer (Panchayat)-cum-Deputy Commissioner Shimla, Anupam Kashyap, ordered the suspension of the entire Polling Party No. 65 after a serious procedural lapse was reported at polling booth Brandli-1 in Ward No. 1 of Gram Panchayat Narain.
According to the official statement, the polling staff mistakenly left the rubber stamp meant for NOTA (None of the Above) along with the authorised arrow cross mark seal inside the voting compartment.
The issue came to light after a voter complained that he had inadvertently stamped the NOTA mark on the ballot paper instead of voting for a candidate.
By the time the matter was reported to the Assistant Returning Officer, as many as 124 voters had already cast their votes.
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The administration stated that the lapse adversely affected the polling process, forcing authorities to halt voting at the booth.
Terming the incident a “serious negligence” in a sensitive democratic exercise, the Deputy Commissioner said complete responsibility and vigilance are expected from polling personnel and any laxity in election duty would not be tolerated.
The suspended officials include Anil Kumar, TGT, Government High School Dev Nagar, who was serving as Presiding Officer; Prakash Chand, LT, Government High School Mashnu, Polling Officer; Raj Kumar, PET, Government Senior Secondary School Munish Bahali, Polling Officer; and Ramesh Chand, JOA (IT), Electricity Sub-Division Sarahan, Polling Officer.
During the suspension period, the headquarters of all four officials has been fixed at the office of the Block Development Officer, Rampur. The suspension orders have come into force with immediate effect.
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