MADURAI
The Election Commission of India has revoked the suspension of three officers involved in the security breach at Madurai Medical College, the counting centre for Parliamentary election in Madurai earlier this year. The “security breach” had triggered a political storm with the opposition alleging that it was an attempt to rig the elections.
The three officials — K. Samboornam (Tahsildar), S. Srinivasan (Record Clerk) and Rajaprakash (Junior Assistant) — entered an unsealed room, containing documents pertaining to the Madurai West Assembly segment, without permission on April 20. A report by the Additional Chief Electoral Officer M. Balaji, who looked into the matter, charged that the officials illegally accessed Form 17A, which contained details of voters.
Tamil Nadu Revenue Officials’ Association’s State secretary M.P. Murugaiyan, said that the three officials acted on instructions of superiors and should not be prosecuted. He said,“We approached the Chief Electoral Officer on a couple of occasions to represent the concerns of the officials. It directed us to approach the Election Commission of India. After another set of representation, our concerns were considered. The officials joined duty today,” he said.
In a communication, Under Secretary, Election Commission of India, Ritesh Singh said that inquiry against the officers should be completed within three months.