Four polling officials suspended in Shimla

Shimla: The Shimla district administration on Tuesday suspended four polling officials for alleged negligence during the panchayati raj institution elections after a serious procedural lapse was reported at a polling station in Rampur subdivision.The suspended officials include the presiding officer and three polling officers. The action was taken by district election officer and deputy commissioner Anupam Kashyap against the entire polling party deployed at Brandli-1 polling station in gram panchayat Narain. During polling, the NOTA rubber stamp was mistakenly left inside the voting compartment along with the authorised arrow-cross seal. The issue surfaced after a voter reportedly stamped NOTA instead of a candidate symbol. By then, 124 votes were already cast, forcing authorities to halt polling.