The shifting of unused election equipment, which include 114 VVPAT machines and 102 control units, by Nuzvid Sub-Collector Swapnil Dinakar from Krishna University campus to the EVM godown on the Collectorate premises in the early hours of Sunday created panic among the contestants in the Nuzvid Assembly and Eluru Lok Sabha constituencies.
The election equipment that was unused on the polling day on April 11 had to be shifted from the university campus to the EVM godown. The equipment was temporarily stored in separate rooms on the campus, Mr. Dinakar told The Hindu.
“We have not touched the sealed strongrooms on the campus where the EVMs used in the polling have been kept. The shifting of unused equipment has been done with the knowledge of the District Election Officer and Collector A.Md. Imtiaz. The equipment has been shifted with the escort provided by the police,” Mr. Dinakar said.
When contacted, Mr. Imtiaz said, “A section of the media has attempted to create panic over the shifting of the unused equipment despite informing it about the procedure.”
Mr. Imtiaz appealed to the voters and the contestants not to have any apprehensions about the security being provided at the strongrooms on the university premises.
“Details pertaining to the EVMs used on the polling day and those stored in the strongrooms have been provided to the contestants. They can check for any mismatch during the counting of votes,” the officials said.