UP poll panel orders deactivation of computer operators’ ECINET login IDs after misuse allegations

The Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday directed the immediate deactivation of the login IDs of all computer assistants working on the Election Commission’s ECINET portal in the offices of electoral registration officers across the state.

The order came after the Congress on October 21 alleged that the names of more than 13,000 voters had been replaced with those of other persons after the final electoral rolls were published in the Pilibhit Sadar Assembly constituency.

A day later, Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said that “irregularities” had been found in 10,470 electoral roll entries in the constituency after the revision.

In the 2022 Assembly polls, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sanjay Gangwar won the seat by a margin of less than 7,000 votes.

An investigation by the Pilibhit district election officer found that a computer assistant had entered 13,779 Form 8 applications. Form 8 is used to correct details in an existing electoral roll or shift a voter’s residence.

On October 22, Rinwa said that legal action would be taken against the current and former electoral registration officers in the constituency. He also said that the services of a computer assistant at the Voter Registration Centre in Pilibhit would be terminated.

On October 25, The Election Commission ordered the reverification of all names added to, deleted...

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