Agra, October 26: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday ordered the suspension of six officials over irregularities during the October 23 polling in the Agra Division Teachers' Constituency for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, and directed disciplinary proceedings against 21 other personnel deployed at the affected polling stations.

At Polling Station No. 21, located at the Kshetra Panchayat Office in Saiyan, the officials ordered to be suspended are Sector Magistrate OP Chak, who is the District Khadi and Village Industries Officer in Agra; Sector Police Officer Harisharan Singh, an Inspector with the Crime Branch; and Sub-Inspector Sandeep Kumar of Etmaddaula Police Station.

At Polling Station No. 26, located at the Kshetra Panchayat Office in Fatehabad, suspension has been ordered for Sector Magistrate Vishal Rathore, the Regional Forest Officer in Fatehabad; Additional Inspector Purushottam Pal; and Sub-Inspector Sumit Tyagi of Ekta Police Station.

The Commission said the officers entrusted with supervisory responsibilities had failed to ensure effective supervision and maintain proper control in and around the polling stations, describing the dereliction of duty as serious and something that could not be condoned. It directed the authorities to prepare charge-sheets against the suspended officers and submit draft copies for its vetting within 10 days.

Apart from the six suspensions, disciplinary proceedings have been ordered against two presiding officers, three polling officers, five head constables and 11 constables. A re-poll was held on Monday at Polling Station No. 20 at the Tehsil Campus in Kheragarh, Polling Station No. 21 in Saiyan and Polling Station No. 26 in Fatehabad, after the October 23 polling at those stations was declared void under Section 58A(2)(a) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, according to a press release issued by the office of Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa.