CEC assures polling integrity after mock poll slip confusion in Samastipur; ARO suspended

New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday issued a swift clarification regarding the discovery of VVPAT slips outside a polling station in Sariranjan of Bihar's Samastipur state assembly constituency, emphasising that the incident involved only mock poll slips and posed no threat to the electoral process.

"The integrity of the polling process remains fully uncompromised," Kumar stated during a press briefing at Nirvachan Sadan, addressing concerns raised by opposition parties and local media.

Kumar revealed that the District Magistrate (DM) of Samastipur was immediately directed to visit the spot and conduct an on-ground inquiry.

"Our preliminary probe confirmed these were VVPAT slips from the mandatory mock poll conducted at 5.30 a.m. before actual voting commenced," District Magistrate Roshan Kumar said.

As per Election Commission protocol, 50 mock votes are cast in the presence of polling agents to verify EVM-VVPAT functionality, after which slips are cleared and destroyed under CCTV surveillance.

"The investigation into the matter has been initiated," Kumar added.

However, the CEC announced strict disciplinary action against the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) overseeing the Rosera segment.

"The ARO failed to ensure proper disposal of mock poll material as per ECI guidelines. He is being placed under immediate suspension, and an FIR is being registered under Section 188 (disobedience of a public servant's order) of the IPC," CEC declared.

Sources confirmed the ARO, a senior Bihar Administrative Service officer, had left the booth briefly post-mock poll, delegating waste clearance to a junior official who mistakenly discarded the slips outside the 100-metre restricted zone.

CCTV footage from 6.12 a.m. shows a sanitation worker sweeping the area, inadvertently scattering the slips. ECI's technical team conducted a fresh VVPAT-EVM matching exercise at the booth, with 100 per cent reconciliation witnessed by agents.

Voting resumed normally by 9.30 a.m., recording 68 per cent turnout by 5 p.m. - above the constituency average.

The Election Commission has now mandated biometric verification of mock poll disposal and real-time GPS tagging of waste bins at sensitive booths.

"Every slip, every vote, every doubt - addressed with evidence," said the CEC, reinforcing public faith ahead of the final phase on November 11.

--IANS

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