A senior Election Commission official said that the Sector Officer had gone to the TMC leader’s house to sleep, who seems to be his relatives.
Electronic voting machines and VVPAT slips were recovered from the house of a TMC leader in Uluberia on Tuesday amid the third phase of polling in West Bengal. News agency ANI quoted the Election Commission as saying that Tapan Sarkar, the Sector Officer, had gone to the TMC leader’s house with EVMs and VVPATs. After the matter came to light, the Sector Officer has been suspended by the Commission and the EVM machines have been excluded from the voting process. Tapan Sarkar, who was posted as the Sector Officer of Sector 17 of Howrah’s Uluberia North seat, had gone to his relative’s house with EVM and VVPAT, who is also the leader of TMC.
According to the information, Tapan Sarkar slept at the TMC leader’s house in the night. The Commission has termed this action of the Tapan government a gross violation of the guidelines. After the matter came to light, the Commission has suspended Tapan Sarkar with immediate effect. Further action will be taken against him.
Also Read: Assembly Elections 2021 Live Updates: Voting Starts In Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal
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
Earlier, ahead of the second phase of voting in West Bengal and Assam held on April 1, a similar dispute arose over EVM. An EVM was found in a BJP candidate’s car in Karimganj, Assam, which was being taken to Strongroom after polling. After its video surfaced, the commission suspended the 4 officers associated with the election process who were responsible for it.
Mob gathered outside TMC leader’s house, police handled the situation
Voting is going on in 31 seats in the third round in West Bengal. These seats are from Howrah, Hooghly and South 24 Parganas. A senior Election Commission official said that the Sector Officer had gone to the TMC leader’s house to sleep, who seems to be his relatives. He was accompanied by EVM and VVPAT. After getting the info about EVM at the TMC leader’s house, villagers gathered outside the house and started demonstrating. After this, the police who reached the spot dispersed the crowd and took control of the situation.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
