ECI orders withdrawal of Election Officers in Mangaldoi and Udalguri

Darrang, April 3: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday issued orders for the withdrawal of election officers in Mangaldai and Udalguri districts under No. 4 Darrang - Udalguri HPC. This move came on the same day as the transfer of the Returning Officer (RO) of the HPC, amidst the ongoing process of filing nomination papers.

The decision was reportedly prompted by the alleged disappearance of a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine in Udalguri district a few days ago. 

In response to the ECI's directive, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Assam, through Order No. ELE/2020/239 dated April 2, withdrew Election Officer Kulbhushan Pegu from Udalguri and appointed Additional District Commissioner Sarfraz Haque as the in charge Election Officer. Similarly, through Order No. ELE/2020/239-A dated April 2, Election Officer Debashish Borthakur was withdrawn from Mangaldai, and Additional District Commissioner Manash Kumar Saikia was appointed as the in charge Election Officer of Mangaldoi.   

Notably, both withdrawn Election Officers, Kulbhushan Pegu and Debashish Borthakur, hold the position of Assistant Commissioners in their respective districts. It is worth mentioning that Election Officer of Mangaldoi, Debashish Borthakur previously served as the Election Officer of Udalguri.

On the same day, as part of its routine review for the Lok Sabha elections, the ECI issued transfer orders for Sadnek Singh, the District Magistrate of Udalguri and the RO of the Darrang - Udalguri HPC.