Kerala's director general of police Lokanath Behera had submitted a report to the chief electoral officer Teeka Ram Meena, based on the information received from Intelligence ADGP TK Vinod Kumar. In the letter, the DGP stated that the provision of the Representation of the People Act was violated in the case regarding postal ballots.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's director general of police (DGP) Lokanath Behera has recommended action against those police officers who committed poll rigging with postal ballots.
The DGP had submitted a report to the chief electoral officer Teeka Ram Meena, based on the information received from Intelligence ADGP TK Vinod Kumar. In the letter, the DGP stated that the provision of the Representation of the People Act was violated in the case. He also added that more investigation is needed.
The investigation has been led by the state criminal intelligence chief, who had earlier made a statement that political party leaders threatened the members of Kerala Police Association and seized their postal ballots.
In the investigation, the highest number of irregularities were found in Kasaragod, Kannur, Vatakara, Alathur, Kollam and Attingal Lok Sabha constituencies.
According to sources, it was also found that hundreds of postal ballots were sent to the house of a member of the Left-linked police association at Vattapara in Thiruvananthapuram.
The complaint on postal ballot scam came forward after a voice message originating from one of the WhatsApp groups of police personnel went viral. The voice message was that of one policeman asking another to give him the postal ballots, which had to be handed over to a police association leader.
Even before the Lok Sabha election, the police headquarters had issued guidelines for postal votes. Over 58,000 policemen were deployed for election duty. Earlier, the police association had defended the allegations of rigging in postal votes saying that these things do not happen with the knowledge of the police force.
The police personnel had to sign and collect the ballot paper personally. There is no rule stating that the ballot paper should be returned personally by the voter.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.