Shimla: District Election Officer (Panchayat) and Deputy Commissioner Shimla, Anupam Kashyap, has suspended four officials of Polling Party No. 65 with immediate effect for alleged negligence during the Panchayati Raj Institutions elections.
The action was taken after a serious procedural lapse was reported at polling station Brandli-1 in Ward No. 1 of Gram Panchayat Narain. According to the administration, the polling team mistakenly left the rubber stamp meant for NOTA inside the voting compartment along with the designated arrow cross mark seal during the voting process.
The issue came to light after a voter complained that he had inadvertently stamped the NOTA symbol instead of a candidate’s symbol. By the time the matter was reported to the Assistant Returning Officer, as many as 124 votes had already been cast.
The administration said the error affected the polling process and voting had to be halted. Terming the incident a “serious lapse” in election duty, the district administration held the entire polling party responsible.
The suspended officials include presiding officer Anil Kumar, TGT, Government High School Dev Nagar; polling officer Prakash Chand, LT, Government High School Mashnu; polling officer Raj Kumar, PET, GSSS Munish Bahali; and polling officer Ramesh Chand, JOA (IT), Electricity Sub-Division Sarahan.
During the suspension period, the officials will remain attached with the office of the Block Development Officer, Rampur. The suspension orders have come into immediate effect.
