Dhal directed the Collector of Ganjam district to suspend and arrest two presiding officers deputed at the Chhatrapur Assembly segment.
Instructions to arrest the two presiding officers have been issued after we found prima facie evidence against them,” Dhal told The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, the focus is on collecting EVMs from the polling officials returning from booths, he said.
CEO Dhal has also directed that two other polling officials, posted in Dharamgarh and Chikiti Assembly segments, also be suspended.
In 2019, voters from the area had voted at a single BSF camp, and the polling percentage was only 25.77%.
Odisha’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Monday suspended four presiding officers and a polling official, who faced allegations of trying to influence voters, as four Lok Sabha constituencies and 28 Assembly seats went to the polls in the state. He also directed that two of these officers be arrested.
CEO Nikunja Bihari Dhal, who did not reveal the names of the officers, said the action was taken under Representation of the People Act section 129, which prohibits poll officials from influencing voting in any manner.
Dhal directed the Collector of Ganjam district to suspend and arrest two presiding officers deputed at the Chhatrapur Assembly segment. The Collector was also directed to suspend a third presiding officer, who was posted at Gopalpur Assembly segment.
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“We were monitoring the situation in the web-casting room and we directed district collectors to take action wherever we found any kind of irregularities on the part of poll officials. Instructions to arrest the two presiding officers have been issued after we found prima facie evidence against them,” Dhal told The Indian Express.
Official sources said the officers faced allegations of influencing people to vote for a particular political party.
Ganjam SP Jagmohan Meena said police would take action regarding the arrests after an FIR is filed. Meanwhile, the focus is on collecting EVMs from the polling officials returning from booths, he said.
CEO Dhal has also directed that two other polling officials, posted in Dharamgarh and Chikiti Assembly segments, also be suspended. One of these was also a presiding officer.
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Incidents of sporadic clashes were reported from Chikiti immediately after commencement of voting, following which the CEO directed Berhampur SP to personally monitor the situation for smooth polling. Incidents of violence were also reported from Berhampur and Jharigaon Assembly segments.
In Swabhiman Anchal, an area under Chitrakonda Assembly segment in Malkangiri district that was once cut-off due to being a Maoist hotbed, around 60 per cent voters turned out to cast their ballots at several polling booths. In 2019, voters from the area had voted at a single BSF camp, and the polling percentage was only 25.77%.
