ECI Cracks Down: 2 Officers Suspended Over Pilibhit Electoral Roll Fraud
The Election Commission of India has suspended two EROs in Pilibhit, UP, over electoral roll irregularities and ordered stricter legal action.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has taken stringent action against two Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) following the discovery of alleged irregularities in the Pilibhit electoral roll of the 127-Pilibhit Assembly Constituency in Uttar Pradesh. In a decisive move to maintain the integrity of the voting process, the Commission has ordered their immediate suspension.
Immediate Suspension and Legal Escalation
The officers under fire, Mayank Goswami and Hemant Chaudhary, have been placed under suspension with immediate effect. The ECI's directive to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Uttar Pradesh explicitly states that these officers cannot be reinstated without the Commission's prior approval.
Beyond administrative suspension, the ECI is pushing for harsher legal consequences. The Commission has instructed state authorities to amend the existing First Information Report (FIR) filed against the two officers and a computer operator, Anil Kumar, by adding Section 198 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The ECI has urged that the court cases be pursued rigorously to ensure the matter reaches a logical conclusion.
A Deep Dive into the Investigation
This crackdown follows a detailed examination of a report submitted by the Uttar Pradesh CEO on October 24, which highlighted the discrepancies in the Pilibhit Assembly constituency's voter lists. As part of the ongoing probe, the ECI has demanded several critical reports:
- District-wide Scrutiny: The District Election Officer (DEO) of Pilibhit must submit a report within one week regarding the scrutiny of electoral rolls across all four Assembly constituencies in the district.
- Operator Accountability: The CEO has been given three days to provide an action-taken report regarding the VRC operator, Anil Kumar.
- AERO Involvement: The Commission is seeking specific details on the roles played by five Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) attached to the 127-Pilibhit constituency.
Wider Review Across Uttar Pradesh
The irregularities in Pilibhit have triggered a much larger alarm for the Election Commission. In a sweeping directive, the ECI has ordered all District Election Officers and Electoral Registration Officers across the entire state of Uttar Pradesh to conduct a thorough re-examination of the electoral rolls under their jurisdiction.
The Commission has specified that this review must focus heavily on data entry related to:
- Form 6: New additions to the voter list.
- Form 7: Deletions of names from the roll.
- Form 8: Modifications and corrections to existing voter data.
By demanding the submission of chargesheets for further vetting, the ECI has signaled that it will not tolerate negligence or manipulation in the voter registration process, ensuring a transparent and fair electoral foundation for the state.