Punjab State Election Commission on Sunday suspended three poll officials, including one returning officer and two presiding officers, for alleged dereliction of election duty.
The executive officer of Nagar Panchayat, Ballianwali of Bathinda district Charan Das was places under suspension immediately after receiving the report from the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development)-cum-Additional District Electoral Officer, Bathinda.
Charan Das was appointed as returning officer for Block Goniana-3, of Bathinda District for Gram Panchayat Elections, “but he had failed to perform his duties sincerely and he left his headquarter without any intimation to the higher officers”.
Ajad Singh Brar, the Head Master of Government High School, Daun Kilian, of Patiala district, was appointed as presiding officer for the panchayat elections, “but he deliberately refused to collect election material”.
The orders pointed that Brar was repeatedly asked to collect the election material, “but he did not turn up for doing his duty. He also instigated the other polling staff not to perform election duty. When the office staff tried to advise him, he used un-parliamentary language with the staff and tried to jostle with. As such the election process has been disturbed”.
In another incident, Sukhwinder Singh, Superintendent of ITI, Bassi Pathana of Fatehgarh Sahib district, who was appointed as presiding officer for gram panchayat elections, faced the action as he did not report for his duty and also allegedly instigated other polling staff to do the same.
Singh was suspended after Fatehgarh Sahib Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer reported the matter to the state Election Commission.
Fatehgarh Sahib Additional Electoral Officer-cum-Additional Deputy Commissioner, Jagwinderjit Singh Sandhu said that the SEC ordered immediate suspension of Singh after considering the facts.
The State Election Commission's secretary order, issued separately, stated that all the officers may not be re-instated in service before getting the recommendations of the Commission.
