Four cops suspended after 6 EVMs found in hotel

Joint chief electoral officer Praveen Kumar Gupta said here that four police personnel had been put under suspension with immediate effect as EVMs could be kept in strong room or polling booth and not at any unsafe place. He said show cause notice had also been issued to sector magistrate Awadhesh Kumar in this connection with a direction to give reply to the notice within 24 hours.

Further action would be taken only after receipt of clarification from the sector magistrate.

Muzaffarpur district magistrate Alok Ranjan Ghosh said the show cause to Awadhesh Kumar had been issued as he had acted against the rules. He said EVMs should not have been kept at any place other than strong room or polling booth concerned.

Mr Ghosh denied allegations of misuse of EVMs as there was a clear direction that flying teams would remain mobile with reserve EVMs so that faulty EMVs could be replaced immediately on the receipt of complaints.

The DM said that sector magistrate Awadhesh Kumar was also given reserve EVMs and VVPATs but none of the EVM was used for the polling purpose and all EVMs were sealed. He, however, admitted that it was against the rules to take EVMs to hotel.

As it is, rumour had started spreading like wildfire when the driver of a vehicle on which the sector magistrate and police personnel were travelling to a polling booth dropped them in between.

The sector magistrate Awadhesh Kumar and police personnel were carrying a control unit, two ballot units and two VVPATs when they were dropped at a marriage hall (hotel) close to booth number 108 near Chhoti Kalyani Chowk in Muzaffarpur Lok Sabha constituency during the polling yesterday. He said that the driver dropped them by taking a plea that he was going to cast his vote in another Assembly segment.

 
Representative image from UNI