Madhupur Presiding Officer Arrested For 'Favouring' JMM Candidate

A case has been registered against tainted officer Ramanand Paswan for violating the secrecy of the election and another official was deputed in his place.

Deoghar: Following Godda MP Nishikant Dubey's allegation of favouritism against the polling officer of the Madhupur assembly seat, Ramanand Paswan has been taken into custody. The chief electoral officer has confirmed the development. Dubey had alleged that Paswan, posted in booth No. 111 of Madhupur constituency, was extending undue favours to the JMM, which the party refuted.

"The officer was removed on a baseless complaint, which will be proven false in the investigation. What’s interesting is that the Election Commission acts quickly on Dubey's complaints, but when we file complaints, they go unheard," said JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey.

Additional CEO Dr Neha Arora said a case has been registered against Paswan for violating the secrecy of the election and he has been taken into custody. Another officer has been deputed in place of him.

"During monitoring in the webcasting room, the presiding officer was found too close to the voting compartment, which violates Election Commission rules and demonstrates gross negligence in performing duties," the statement read. The returning officer has been instructed to conduct a thorough investigation and take legal action if necessary, the statement added.

Dubey, through a post on social media platform X, informed the Election Commission of India about the polling personnel getting people to vote in favour of JMM at booth number 111 in Madhupur. In the post, he said the presiding officer was getting people to vote in favour of JMM candidate Hafizul Hasan and a ten-year-old was being made to vote with the help of the presiding officer at booth numbers 111 and 112.

The poll body immediately took cognisance of his post and swung into action against the polling officer in question. Dubey thanked the ECI for the swift action.

The Godda MP and his wife Anu Dubey cast their votes at the polling station in the BEd College in Deoghar. After casting his vote, Dubey said voting is the right of every person and it is the common people who take all kinds of benefits from their leaders and must cast their votes for their benefit.

At the same time, due to low voter turnout in urban areas, Anu Dubey appealed to the people to come out in large numbers to exercise their right to vote.

Polling for 38 assembly seats in the second and final phase of the Jharkhand elections is underway on Wednesday, with tight security arrangements in place. Voting began at 7 AM across 14,218 booths in 12 districts and will continue until 5 PM.