After a major voter list anomaly came to light in the Pilibhit Sadar assembly constituency recently, the instance of a voter’s name appearing 11 times in the electoral rolls has now surfaced in Azamgarh assembly constituency, prompting the Election Commission of India (EC) to order departmental proceedings against the then electoral registration officer (ERO), two assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) as well as issue notices for the dismissal of five booth level officers (BLOs) and a computer assistant.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav raised the issue at a press conference on October 15. Alleging anomalies in the voter list, the SP chief said the name of an individual, Vikas Yadav, appeared multiple times in the Azamgarh assembly constituency voter list
Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa on Saturday said that taking cognizance of the SP chief’s allegation, the EC directed the Azamgarh district election officer (DEO) carry out a detailed investigation and submit a report.
During the investigation, it was found that one Vikas Yadav, with the same date of birth as that of Vikas Yadav of Azamgarh assembly constituency, was enrolled in the voter list of Chauri-Chaura assembly constituency in Gorakhpur district.
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{{/usCountry}}The name Vikas Yadav was found to be entered 13 times in the voter list for Azamgarh assembly constituency. The name of the father, age and address were identical. Later, two entries of Vikas Yadav were deleted.
“A further probe indicated that 11 entries were associated with 11 different persons having the identical name Vikas Yadav. All the 11 Vikas Yadavs are residents of various villages in the constituency, but the details of all the 11 persons, including father’s name, address and date of birth, were identical. Taking cognizance of the error, the district election officer got Form-8 (for correction of entries in existing electoral rolls) filled by 10 Vikas Yadavs, excluding the actual Vikas Yadav, for correction of details,” he said.
Terming it a serious lapse by the ERO, AEROs, BLOs and the computer assistant, the EC ordered strict action against them.
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After a thorough probe, the EC may order registration of an FIR against the erring officers as was done in the case of anomalies in the Pilibhit Sadar assembly constituency voter list, said an officer familiar with the development in the case.
The UP CEO said instructions have been issued to the Azamgarh DEO to immediately remove the computer assistant of the voter registration centre and the BLOs found guilty in the case from voter list duties. The DEO has been also directed to issue notices for termination of their services, he said.
“Action against the then electoral registration officer (ERO), two assistant electoral registration officers as well as five booth level officers (BLOs) and a computer assistant will be taken under Section-32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. Instructions have also been given to serve notices on the erring officers,” he said.
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Instructions have also been issued to issue charge sheets for initiating departmental proceedings against the then electoral registration officer and two assistant electoral registration officers for negligence in discharging their official duties in the preparation of the voter list and laxity in supervision, the CEO said.
The Azamgarh DEO has also been instructed to thoroughly investigate the electoral rolls of all 10 assembly constituencies in Azamgarh district and submit a detailed report to the UP CEO office within a week, he said.