Pathanamthitta District Collector S. Prem Krishnan, who is also the District Election Officer, on Sunday suspended three polling officials including a Booth Level Officer following a complaint over voting fraud.
Officials said the Special Poll Officers A. Deepa, Kala S. Thomas and Booth Level Officer P. Ambili have been suspended pending investigation in a complaint over a woman casting her vote from home in the name of a deceased person. The complaint pertained to a vote cast by one Annamma, a voter in booth number 144 in the Aranmula Assembly constituency.
As the complaint, the woman had cast a vote in the name of her deceased mother-in law, who also bore the same name as Annamma.
The alleged incident took place on April 18, when the officials’ reached 72- year old Annamma’s residence based on an application submitted in the name of her 94 year-old mother-in-law, who had expired four years ago. The Left Democratic Front had lodged a complaint in this regard with the election authorities.
Taking a serious note of the incident, the Collector has also directed the Pathanamthitta District Police Chief to register a criminal case against the woman.
The Election Commission has introduced the option of vote from home for individuals over 85 years of age and those with disabilities exceeding 40%, designating them as absentee voters. As per estimates, 11,472 voters including 9,485 aged persons had exercised their adult franchise in the district so far.
Meanwhile, three cases have been filed in Pathanamathitta for abusing social media in relation to the Lok Sabha elections. Two cases have been lodged at Thiruvalla Police Station, while one is registered at Pathanamthitta Police Station.
One case involves the abuse directed at the state Chief Electoral Officer, Sanjay M Kaul, via WhatsApp. Another case stems from a complaint filed by Mathew T. Thomas, MLA. The third case, initiated by Pathanamthitta Police on April 1, concerns an individual spreading misinformation about electronic voting machines on Facebook on February 28.
