Election Commission has suspended the sector officer who took the EVM and VVPAT and went to sleep at a relative’s house in Uluberia of Howrah district in West Bengal. It was a reserved EVM that has been removed from the election process. EC has assured that severe action will be taken against all involved.
Sector officer of Sector 17 in AC 177 Uluberia Uttar at Howrah district, Tapan Sarkar, went with Reserve EVM and slept at a relative’s house. This is a gross violation of EC’s instructions for which he has been suspended and charges will be framed for major punishment.
Election Commission also directs to suspend Sector Police attached to Sector Officer. The said EVM and VVPAT have been taken out of the stock and shall not be used in the polls.
Several sealed EVMs were found kept outside the house of TMC leader Gautam Ghosh. When the police and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) officials arrived on the spot, the Sector Officer said, “By the time we reached the Sector Office, it was closed by the CAPF. Later, my Assistant Sector Officer said that we can keep it with our relatives. I did not know that he is a TMC Leader.”
Sector Officer has been suspended. It was a reserved EVM that has been removed from the election process. Severe action will be taken against all involved: Election Commission of India (ECI)
EVMs and VVPATs were found at the residence of a TMC leader in Uluberia, West Bengal pic.twitter.com/IBFwmDSXeY
— ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2021
Elections for 31 assembly constituencies are scheduled to take place today in three districts – eight in Hooghly, seven in Howrah and sixteen in South 24 Parganas.
South 24 Parganas has a significant importance for both the top parties in the fray – Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Diamond Harbour is the parliamentary constituency of TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.