Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday issued a quick clarification regarding the finding of VVPAT slips outside a polling booth in Sarai Ranjan in Bihar’s Samastipur state assembly constituency, emphasizing that the incident pertains only to mock poll slips and poses no threat to the electoral process.
“The integrity of the voting process has not been completely compromised,” Kumar said while addressing concerns raised by opposition parties and local media during a press conference at the Nirvachan Sabha.
Kumar revealed that the District Magistrate (DM) of Samastipur was directed to immediately visit the spot and conduct a ground investigation.
District Magistrate Roshan Kumar said, “Our preliminary investigation has confirmed that these were VVPAT slips of the mandatory mock poll conducted at 5.30 am before the actual polling began.”
As per the Election Commission’s protocol, 50 mock votes are cast in the presence of polling agents to verify the functionality of the EVM-VVPAT, after which the slips are cleaned and destroyed under CCTV surveillance.
“Investigation into the matter has been initiated,” Kumar said.
However, the CEC announced strict disciplinary action against the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) overseeing the Rosera section.
“The ARO failed to ensure proper disposal of the mock poll material as per ECI guidelines. He is being suspended forthwith, and an FIR is being registered under section 188 (disobedience to order of public servant) of the IPC,” the CEC announced.
Sources confirmed that the ARO, a senior Bihar Administrative Service officer, had left the booth for a while after the mock poll, and handed over the garbage disposal duty to a junior officer, who accidentally threw the slips outside the 100-metre restricted zone.
CCTV footage from 6.12 am shows a sanitation worker sweeping the area and inadvertently scattering slips. The ECI technical team conducted a fresh VVPAT-EVM matching exercise at the booth, which witnessed 100 per cent matching by the agents.
Voting resumed as normal at 9.30 am, with 68 per cent turnout recorded by 5 pm – higher than the constituency average.
The Election Commission has now mandated biometric verification of mock poll disposal and real-time GPS tagging of dustbins at sensitive booths.
“Every slip, every vote, every doubt was addressed with evidence,” the CEC said, strengthening public confidence ahead of the final round on November 11.
–IANS
sktr/svn