Congress claims mischief as CCTV and DVR go missing in Umred

NAGPUR: With CCTVs and digital voice recorders (DVR) going “mysteriously” missing from the strongroom in

Umred

where

EVMs

were kept after polling, the Congress party is suspecting mischief. However, no police complaint has been filed.


Umred falls in the

Ramtek Lok Sabha constituency

where voting was held on April 11. “EVMs were brought from different assembly constituencies on April 11 and remained there till April 12 night when they were shifted to the strong room in Kalamna. The very next day, the CCTVs and DGVs went missing,” said Kishore Gajbhiye who was the Congress candidate from Ramtek.

Gajbhiye said he has filed a complaint with the state election commission in Mumbai and “will take it up in Delhi too”.

“What has happened is not right and we have more details about the incident. Everything will be revealed on Friday evening,” said Rajendra Mulak, the Nagpur Rural District party president. Congress has announced a press conference at 4pm.

Meanwhile, police and election commission officials are playing a blame game. Though the theft came to light on April 16, no FIR has been registered in the matter as the collector’s office and police officials are at odds over who should file the complaint.

Police sources said that the naib tehsildar, who was the assistant returning officer and chief of the election process in Umred, should file the complaint. However, the election commission officials are claiming that the police guard who was on the duty should do so.

It is learnt that police guards had withdrawn from the spot on April 13, a day after all the election-related material including EVM machines, were shifted to Kalamna.

Police sources claimed that the election officers should have noticed that DVR had not reached them. It was only when they came to collect it on April 16, they were found missing.