Kendrapara: Tension erupted near the strong room at Kendrapara Autonomous College late Saturday night following assault of the second polling officer of Patkura Assembly election by the supporters of a political party. The poll official, Chitta Ranjan Sahu, was targeted when he was found removing the battery of a VVPAT machine before submitting it at the counter.
Suspecting that Sahu might be tampering the votes from VVPAT machine, BJP supporters beat him up.
According to Jyoti Shankar Mohapatra, sub collector cum returning officer of Patkura Assembly constituency, the polling party returned to the strong room at Kendrapara college to deposit BU, CU, EVMs and VVPAT machines.
The polling party failed to remove the battery and the second polling officer was standing in queue for submitting it at the counter. The other polling personnel, who were behind Chitta Ranjan Sahu, asked him to remove the battery from the VVPAT before submitting it, failing which it would not be received at the counter.
As per ECI norms, after completion of poll, the presiding officer has to remove the power back (battery) from VVPAT in the presence of polling agents. Only after removal of the battery, the carrying case of VVPAT shall be sealed in the presence of polling agents. The VVPAT will be deposited at the counter of the strong room with battery removed from machine, Mohapatra said.
District Collector Samarth Verma, SP Niti Sekhar and other senior officials and police personnel pacified the mob and rescued the poll official.
“It’s a non issue. That occurred due to misunderstanding. Today, during the scrutiny of the EVMs in the presence of general observer, polling agents were satisfied that no such EVM tampering has been made,“ informed Mohapatra.
Meanwhile, the EVMs were kept at the strong room with tight security. Three layers of security arrangements have been made in and outside the strong room. While a platoon of central para military force has been guarding the inner cordon of the strong room, a platoon of Odisha State Armed Police force has been deployed to guard the middle cordon and a platoon of state police has been deployed at the outer cordon as per the ECI guidelines, SP Niti Sekhar said.
PNN