Election Commission Removes Two EROs, Terminates Operator Over Pilibhit Voter Roll Errors

The action followed a complaint by the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, which alleged that the details of 13,150 voters in the Pilibhit Sadar Assembly segment had been changed a few weeks after the final draft of the electoral rolls was published following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Rajendra Pal Gautam, the Congress state in-charge, said the final draft was released on April 10, assuring voters that their serial numbers, names, name spellings, addresses and Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers were correct. However, he alleged that several discrepancies emerged within weeks of its publication.

“The final draft was released on April 10. This was an assurance to voters that their serial numbers, names, spellings of names, addresses and EPIC numbers were correct. But 13,150 voters of the Pilibhit Sadar Assembly segment discovered after a few weeks that while their EPIC and serial numbers were the same, their names had been changed,” Gautam said.

He further alleged that the names of 800 voters had been removed from the electoral roll despite their submission of all the required documents. In addition, 2,600 voters who did not live at the addresses mentioned in the records were allegedly added to the list.

Responding to the issue, Alok Kumar, the chief electoral officer of Pilibhit, told reporters that the authorities had begun correcting the electoral roll. He confirmed that two electoral registration officers, both of sub-divisional magistrate rank, had been removed from their assignments and the services of a computer operator had been terminated.

“We are in the process of correcting the electoral roll. Two EROs (of the rank of sub-divisional magistrate) have been removed from their assignments.... The job of a computer operator has been terminated,” Kumar said.

A departmental inquiry has also been ordered against the two EROs, Mayank Goswami and Hemant Chaudhary. The computer operator whose services were terminated has been identified as Anil Kumar.

The electoral roll discrepancies have prompted administrative action in Pilibhit, with the authorities undertaking corrections and initiating an inquiry into the roles of the officials concerned. The process is aimed at addressing the reported errors in the voter records following the Congress complaint.