Thiruvananthapuram: DGP Loknath Behera on Friday suspended commando Vyshak of IR camp who was found guilty in the police postal ballot malpractice.
An audio clip of Vyshak has come out, which said that the association was collecting the postal ballots of around 58,000 police personnel who were deployed for election duty. He asked them to hand over the postal ballots to the union leaders in advance. The audio clip was circulated in the WhatsApp group of the cops were appointed at Sreepadmanabha temple. Following the controversy, the WhatsApp group was dismantled.
Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena had recommended action against Vaisakh. Action will also be taken against four other officials--Arun Mohan, Ratheesh, Rajesh Kumar and Manikuttan--who were also found guilty. They will be booked under section 136 D, F and G of the Representation of People Act and under the Kerala Government Servants Conduct Rule.
Opposition Leader Ra-mesh Chennithala, said he would approach the High Court seeking imm-ediate intervention into irregularities in postal voting. Mr Chennithala told reporters here that he would approach the HC seeking to cancel the postal votes and arrange for all police officers who were on election duty to cast their votes using a facilitation center under the supervision of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). The chief electoral officer was given three letters in connection with the irregularities in postal voting in police department. The CEO handed over the first letter to the state police chief. However, no further action was taken suggesting that there were no issues, said Chennithala
