Azamgarh, October 24 — The office of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Saturday ordered the immediate removal of a computer assistant and five Booth Level Officers (BLOs) from all electoral roll-related duties and initiated proceedings against senior officials, following an investigation into the multiple entries of the name 'Vikas Yadav' in the electoral roll of Azamgarh Assembly constituency number 347, IANS reported.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

The Samajwadi Party had raised the issue at a press conference on October 15, claiming that the name of one individual, Vikas Yadav, appeared 10 times in the constituency's voter list. Taking cognisance of the allegation, the CEO's office obtained a detailed investigation report from Azamgarh District Election Officer Ravindra Kumar.

According to the report, the name 'Vikas Yadav' (in Hindi) appeared 13 times in the roll. Of these, the process for deletion of two entries had already been completed as per rules. The remaining 11 entries belong to 11 different individuals from Azamgarh district who reside in their respective villages — that is, they were not one person registered many times, but different voters, most of them wrongly listed under the same name. Except for the genuine Vikas Yadav, Form-8 applications have been filled for the other 10 persons to correct their names and personal details.

Source: The Times of India via News89

13Entries named 'Vikas Yadav' found in the Azamgarh roll
11Different individuals the remaining entries belonged to
6Computer assistant + BLOs removed from roll work
1 weekTime given to examine all Azamgarh constituency rolls and report

The probe also clarified that a voter with the same name and parentage registered in the Chauri-Chaura Assembly constituency of Gorakhpur district is a separate individual and is not linked to the Azamgarh entries.

Acting on the findings, CEO Navdeep Rinwa directed that the computer assistant posted at the Voter Registration Centre and the five BLOs found responsible be immediately removed from all work related to the electoral roll, and notices have been served to them regarding termination of their services. Notices have also been issued to the computer assistant, the five BLOs, the then Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) and two Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) before initiating action under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

Departmental proceedings have also been ordered against the then ERO and the two AEROs, with charge sheets served for alleged negligence in the discharge of official duties and lack of proper supervision during the preparation of the electoral roll. In addition, the Azamgarh District Election Officer has been instructed to conduct a thorough examination of the electoral rolls of all Assembly constituencies in the district on this issue and submit a detailed report within one week. The Election Commission has adopted a zero-tolerance approach towards irregularities in the preparation and maintenance of electoral rolls, the report said.