KENDRAPADA: The Kendrapada Sub-Collector and President of the Governing Body of Maa Tarini Higher Secondary School on Tuesday suspended school Principal Bikash Chandra Das for violating the model code of conduct for the panchayat elections.
Salipur SDPO Prasant Majhi was also suspended by the Central Range IG on the same charge.
Earlier in the day, the State Election Commission (SEC) had recommended suspension of the Principal and the SDPO for allegedly violating the model code of conduct by organising a political meeting despite enforcement of the guideline ahead of the panchayat elections.
The SEC recommended that the School and Mass Education Department suspend the Principal over poll code violation. Besides, it asked district Collector Amrit Ruturaj to register a case against the Principal under Section 188 IPC.
Taking strong cognisance of the presence of the Salipur SDPO during the event, the SEC recommended the Director General of Police (DGP) to immediately suspend the police officer and place him at the Police Headquarters.
Both the recommendations were made by the SEC based on a report by the Collector. Earlier, on Monday, a video showing a meeting being organised on the premises of the school went viral on social media platforms. Sources said the meeting was held to canvas for the aspiring Sarpanch candidate of Gadaromita GP Sanghamitra Mohapatra,
The Samajwadi Lohia Vahini State secretary Pradip mishra, r activisst Pratap Mohanty, and Manoranjan Samal knocked at the doors of the SEC and alleged violation of code of conduct and Covid protocols.
Even though the video showed hundreds of people participating in the meeting, SDPO Majhi claimed that it was a family function and denied any violation of the model code of conduct. Soon after the telecast of the news, the administration had ordered a probe into the incident.