The Maharashtra State Election Commission has ordered the suspension of a polling officer and a police constable in Solapur for allowing a minor boy to enter a polling booth with his father, a candidate in the Zilla Parishad election.
A video went viral on social media last week, which showed a 14-year-old boy, accompanied by his father, allegedly casting a vote at the Yashwant Nagar polling station in Akluj during the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections on February 7.
As per PTI, the video saw NCP (SP) candidate Arjun Sinh Mohite Patil`s son is seen standing next to him inside a polling booth, pressing the EVM button.
The SEC, in a letter to the Solapur collector on February 10, stated that permitting a child inside the polling compartment was a violation of election rules.
Based on a preliminary report from SEC, the poll body found negligence in election duty by polling officer Anna Savata Budhe and police constable Gajanan Sitaram Rajut, who were deployed at the booth. The SEC has ordered the immediate suspension of both officials and departmental disciplinary proceedings against them.
The commission further stated that an FIR has been registered in connection with the incident, naming Mohite-Patil, and directed the collector to send a factual report on the status of the case and subsequent action.
Zilla Parishad elections: Probe ordered as Shiv Sena MLA votes in presence of minor son in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
A probe has been ordered after Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena MLA Vilas Bhumre took his minor son inside an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) booth during Zilla Parishad elections in Maharashtra`s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, officials said on Sunday, reported the PTI.
The incident took place in Paithan taluka of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, they said, adding that the act violated election rules related to secrecy and voting procedures.
The incident took place on Saturday at the Pachod polling booth. In the video, which later went viral on social media, both Bhumre and his son can be seen with ink marks on their fingers. When questioned by reporters, Bhumre, who is the MLA from Paithan, played down the issue.
He said his son had accompanied him and wanted ink on his finger while Bhumre was being marked after voting. “My son is very small. How will he understand anything about EVMs and its buttons? He only came with me,” Bhumre said, according to the PTI.
District collector Dilip Swami said action was taken after he came to know about the incident through the viral video and media reports. “I have called the concerned officer in Paithan taluka and asked for a detailed report. I have also sought an explanation about who allowed the child to enter the EVM booth and have his finger inked,” Swami said, the news agency reported.
He added that action would be taken against officials found responsible for the lapse.
