EC informs SSP to relieve 6 police officers from duty, asking why the deployment order was not followed
The EC asked the SSP to explain why disciplinary proceedings should not be instituted against him for not following the EC’s instructions regarding the randomisation of local police officers.
Two Uttar Pradesh police officers were asked on Thursday to explain why they had not followed Election Commission instructions regarding the deployment of police personnel for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat by-election.
In response to a complaint by Ramgopal Yadav, a Samajwadi Party leader, the EC took action to prevent interference with the elections by the police and local administration. As a result of the order, the Mainpuri SSP was directed to relieve six sub-inspectors from their respective police stations located within their respective Assembly seats – Suresh Chand, Kadir Shah, Sudhir Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Satya Bhan and Raj Kumar Goswami.
The EC asked the SSP to explain why disciplinary proceedings should not be instituted against him for not following the EC’s instructions regarding the randomisation of local police officers.
Also, the panel requested an explanation as to why the Etawah SSP should not face disciplinary action for granting long leaves to four Station House Officers in Vaidpura, Bharthana, Jaswantnagar and Chaubiya without the EC’s permission after the model code of conduct was implemented.
According to the EC, the Chief Electoral Officer is instructed to ensure that the deployment of the force is under the supervision of the general police observer appointed for the bypoll. According to the election panel, “randomisation of the local police force is a cornerstone of the Commission’s existing instructions to ensure fairness.”
As a result of the death of Samajwadi Party founder and MP Mulayam Singh Yadav in October, a by-election will be held in Mainpuri on December 5.
