Election Commission orders probe into misuse of VVPATs

Hyderabad: The Election Commission has taken serious note of the allegations of misuse of VVPATs (Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) in the just-concluded by-election to the Huzurabad Assembly constituency. State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Shashank Goel has ordered an inquiry into the shifting of the VVPATS.

Based on the complaint lodged by the BJP, the Commission has swiftly reacted and launched an investigation to ascertain the ground reality on the misuse of the vote machines.

The CEO directed Karimnagar district collector, and Returning officer to submit a report after the probe. Goel said that the Commission would take stringent action against those involved in the shifting of the VVPATs and other poll violations committed by the officials.

Soon after the Commission received complaints, Goel conducted an emergency meeting with officials of Karimnagar district and reviewed the arrangements made for the safe storage of EVM and VVPATs used in the by-elections.

Additional forces have been deployed at the strong rooms to ensure no tampering of the machines till the counting of the votes is completed. The CEO also reviewed the arrangements, including Covid safety norms made for the counting of votes on November 2. The CEO called a meeting with the officials on Monday to address the challenges in the counting votes.