Pilibhit officials removed and operator fired over electoral roll irregularities

PILIBHIT — Two Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) have been removed from their posts and a computer operator’s services terminated following an official investigation into irregularities in the electoral roll for the Pilibhit Sadar assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

The administrative action comes in the wake of complaints raised by opposition parties regarding the manipulation of voter lists. Pilibhit District Magistrate and District Election Officer Alok Kumar stated that a comprehensive inquiry into the voter list revision process is currently underway, directed by Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa.

The integrity of electoral rolls forms the bedrock of the democratic process, rendering administrative accountability crucial during revision cycles. The controversy emerged after the release of the final draft of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Uttar Pradesh, which had been published on April 10.

According to the state Congress, widespread discrepancies were discovered following the publication of the final draft list. In a press conference held at the state headquarters on Wednesday, the party alleged that a total of 16,554 votes were manipulated in assembly constituency number 127, Pilibhit Sadar, between July and September. The opposition party claimed that the names of 13,150 voters were altered internally while retaining their original EPIC and serial numbers, 884 existing voters were wrongfully removed, and 2,600 non-existent voters were added to the rolls. Earlier, the Samajwadi Party had also submitted a formal memorandum regarding the matter on Monday.

In response to the preliminary findings of the investigation, Puranpur SDM Mayank Goswami and Amaria SDM Hemant Chaudhary, who previously served as Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), have been found guilty of severe negligence. Both officers have been attached to the district headquarters, and departmental inquiries have been initiated against them. Additionally, the services of Anil Kumar, a computer operator at the Voter Registration Centre (VRC), have been terminated.

Authorities are preparing to file a First Information Report (FIR) against the data operator and other responsible individuals to initiate formal legal proceedings. Officials indicated that further administrative actions may follow as the detailed investigation progresses.