Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, February 8 Three individuals performing election duty for the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections were suspended on Sunday after Shiv Sena MLA Vilas Bhumre brought his minor son into the EVM booth in Paithan taluka of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Saturday, violating secrecy and other norms associated with the voting process. The incident, in which the fingers of both Bhumre and his son were marked with ink, took place at the Pachod booth on Saturday. A video of the incident went viral on social media, leading to district collector Dilip Swami, who is also the election returning officer, ordering an investigation. A statement from the district administration said that head of polling booth 58/7 Dilipa Narwade, booth officer Sangita Kedar, and homeguard Renuka Bomble have been placed under suspension until the inquiry report is submitted. The statement said that Narwade and Kedar are school teachers who were deputed for election duty. Bhumre, the MLA from Paithan, downplayed the incident when questioned by reporters. "When my finger was being marked with ink after voting, my son also wanted ink on his finger. He is young. How can he understand anything about EVMs and its buttons? He is young and just came with me," Bhumre claimed. Earlier, Collector Swami said that he had ordered an investigation into the incident after he came to know about it from the viral video and through the media. The concerned officer in Paithan taluka has been asked to give a detailed explanation on the chain of events, he had said. The collector had promised strict action against those responsible for the violation. Bhumre (40) is the son of senior Shiv Sena leader Sandipanrao Bhumre, who was a five-time MLA from Paithan and is currently a Member of Parliament representing Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad). A similar incident also took place in Solapur on the same day. In a viral video, candidate Arjun Sinh Mohite Patil's son was seen standing next to him inside a polling booth at Yashwant Nagar in Akluj, and pressing the EVM button. Patil later claimed that the boy only wanted to see how a vote is cast.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, February 8 Three individuals performing election duty for the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections were suspended on Sunday after Shiv Sena MLA Vilas Bhumre brought his minor son into the EVM booth in Paithan taluka of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Saturday, violating secrecy and other norms associated with the voting process. The incident, in which the fingers of both Bhumre and his son were marked with ink, took place at the Pachod booth on Saturday. A video of the incident went viral on social media, leading to district collector Dilip Swami, who is also the election returning officer, ordering an investigation. A statement from the district administration said that head of polling booth 58/7 Dilipa Narwade, booth officer Sangita Kedar, and homeguard Renuka Bomble have been placed under suspension until the inquiry report is submitted. The statement said that Narwade and Kedar are school teachers who were deputed for election duty. Bhumre, the MLA from Paithan, downplayed the incident when questioned by reporters. "When my finger was being marked with ink after voting, my son also wanted ink on his finger. He is young. How can he understand anything about EVMs and its buttons? He is young and just came with me," Bhumre claimed. Earlier, Collector Swami said that he had ordered an investigation into the incident after he came to know about it from the viral video and through the media. The concerned officer in Paithan taluka has been asked to give a detailed explanation on the chain of events, he had said. The collector had promised strict action against those responsible for the violation. Bhumre (40) is the son of senior Shiv Sena leader Sandipanrao Bhumre, who was a five-time MLA from Paithan and is currently a Member of Parliament representing Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad). A similar incident also took place in Solapur on the same day. In a viral video, candidate Arjun Sinh Mohite Patil's son was seen standing next to him inside a polling booth at Yashwant Nagar in Akluj, and pressing the EVM button. Patil later claimed that the boy only wanted to see how a vote is cast.