Minor allowed inside poll booth in Maharashtra's Solapur; SEC suspends polling officer, cop

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has ordered the suspension of a polling officer and a police constable in Solapur after a minor was allowed inside a polling booth along with his father, a candidate in the Zilla Parishad election. The action follows a video that went viral on social media last week, showing a 14-year-old boy accompanying his father and allegedly casting a vote at the Yashwant Nagar polling station in Akluj during the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections held on February 7. In the video, NCP (SP) candidate Arjun Sinh Mohite Patil’s son is seen standing beside him inside the polling compartment and pressing the button on the EVM. In a letter addressed to the Solapur collector on February 10, the SEC said allowing a child inside the polling compartment amounted to a violation of election rules. According to a preliminary inquiry report, the commission found negligence in the discharge of election duties by polling officer Anna Savata Budhe and police constable Gajanan Sitaram Rajut, who were posted at the booth. The SEC has directed the immediate suspension of both officials and initiated departmental disciplinary proceedings against them. It has also instructed the district administration to submit a detailed compliance report at the earliest. The commission further stated that an FIR has been registered in the matter, naming Mohite-Patil, and asked the collector to provide a factual report on the status of the case and subsequent action taken.