Four Poll Officials Suspended for Negligence During Shimla Panchayat Elections

In Shimla, four election officials were suspended following accusations of negligence during the first phase of the Panchayat elections. The incident arose from a mistake where a NOTA stamp was inadvertently left inside a voting booth, leading to confusion among voters.

The officials, including Presiding Officer Anil Kumar, along with Polling Officers Prakash Chand, Raj Kumar, and Ramesh Chand, were stationed at Brandli-1 polling booth in Narain Gram Panchayat's Ward No. 1. The issue was brought to light by a voter who, after casting his vote, realized he had stamped the NOTA option in error. An investigation revealed that 124 voters had cast their votes unknowingly affected by this oversight.

Anupam Kashyap, the District Election Officer and Shimla Deputy Commissioner, issued the suspension orders as an immediate corrective measure. Consequently, voting was temporarily stopped, and the officials were ordered to report to the Rampur Block Development Officer during their suspension.

(With inputs from agencies.)