An incomplete list of names been sent to the State Election Commission, which had directed district administrations to bring out a list of officials who had worked in the district for more than three years.
While a total of 156 names of officials had been collected from various departments, officials at the election office here said only those from the Revenue Department had been sent.
“We started scrutinising the names in the list. Later, we were directed to send only a few names from the Revenue Department,” said an official from the election office. Deputy Commissioner Harsh Gupta was unclear of the names on the list, claiming it had been sent on the directions of the previous deputy commissioner.
List sought
In a directive issued by Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer, Anil Kumar Jha, a list of election-related officials, including police officials, who have completed three years in a district should be transferred out.
Alleging that an incomplete list had been sent, Vijaya Prasad Alva, Executive Director, Human Rights Federation of India, wrote a letter to the State Election Commission pointing out that the list does not mention long-serving officials such as K.N. Vijay Prakash, Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Panchayat, Harish Kumar, Commissioner, Mangalore City Corporation, Mohammed Nazeer, Chief Planning Officer, Zilla Panchayat, Seethamma, Deputy Secretary, Zilla Panchayat, Vijaya Kumari Shenoy, Principal, District Training Institute, Mangalore, Jean Mary Tauro, Assistant Secretary, Zilla Panchayat.
“Why are they only selectively choosing names? None of the top officials are there,” he said.
The list of names that had initially been sent for scrutiny – a copy of which is with The Hindu – lists the highest being from Agriculture Department at 41 officials, 13 officials from the Excise and Public Works Department, 10 persons from Horticulture Department, nine from Education Department, seven from Department of Women and Child Development and the rest encompassing bodies such as Mangalore Urban Development Authority (three persons, including Ajit Kumar Hegde, Commissioner, MUDA), Regional Transport Office (3), Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) (4), Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (5), among others.
Only eight police officers each from the Mangalore City Commissionerate and the District Police have been included in the list. “The guidelines state that in the past four years, they should not have worked in one district for three years or so. Many police officers have been transferred to other districts and have returned,” said Manish Karbikar, Commission of Police. Out of the eight names sent by the department, seven are Sub-Inspectors, of which three have been issued transfer orders, he said.
While Mr. Jha was unavailable for comments, an officer in the electoral section said any complaints in the lists sent would be taken up. “There have been confusions regarding guidelines, and names may have been missed out. We will look into complaints that have arrived,” he said.
