10 BLOs booked for skipping poll duty in Jalna

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Ten booth-level officers (BLOs) from Jalna district were booked under section 234 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 134 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, for allegedly failing to join duty and wilfully neglecting election-related responsibilities for the 101 Jalna assembly constituency.The FIR was registered in Jalna on the complaint of Vishnupant Ghughe (50), an employee at the tehsil office in Jalna, who was authorised by the tehsildar and assistant electoral registration officer through a written order on Friday to initiate legal action against errant officials.According to the complaint, the chief electoral officer, Maharashtra, had issued a directive on March 3, 2026, assigning BLOs the responsibility of verifying unclear, distorted and non-human photographs in the electoral roll, along with completing other time-bound tasks related to voter list revision.Despite being appointed as BLOs and directed through an order dated March 20 to report for duty, the accused officials allegedly failed to join work. The tehsil office issued multiple communications on Jan 29, Feb 5, March 4, 5, 6, 11 and 20, asking them to attend meetings and take charge of assigned duties, but they remained absent.Officials said the BLOs also skipped a crucial review meeting held on Friday and did not respond to show-cause notices issued for their absence. No explanation was submitted, nor did they report for duty, the complaint stated.Their continued absence stalled several key election processes, including SIR 2002 verification work, online mapping, DSE processes within and across parts, and the disposal of Forms 6, 7 and 8 related to voter enrolment, deletion and correction.The delay drew strong displeasure from the district collector and district election officer, who repeatedly directed that the pending work be completed within the stipulated timeline.Police officials, citing the content of the complaint, said by deliberately avoiding their assigned responsibilities, the accused obstructed crucial election work, prompting registration of the FIR under relevant legal provisions.Ten booth-level officers (BLOs) from Jalna district have been booked under Section 234 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 134 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.