The Election Commission of India has suspended an official in Sambalpur after he had ordered the checking of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s helicopter on Tuesday.
The suspension came after the EC sent a one-man enquiry team to Odisha. According to the ECI order, the officer, Mohammed Mohsin, a Karnataka-cadre IAS officer deputed as a special observer, had “not acted in conformity with the ECI’s instructions” that have made an exception for those protected by the SPG, such as the Prime Minister.
Mr. Modi’s chopper was checked after he arrived at Sambalpur on Tuesday to address a meeting of the BJP nominees for the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the State, according to the police. “The Election Commission has considered the material available before it and prima facie finds it as dereliction of duty,” reads the order of April 16.
According to sources, officials in Odisha had earlier this week also checked helicopters used by CM Naveen Patnaik in Sundargarh and Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Sambalpur.
Sources said that the ECI took action against the poll official on Tuesday evening itself after the Prime Minister complained to the body. In an order on March 22, the EC had given instructions exempting the SPG-protected persons from checks by the election officers.
(With inputs from Devesh K. Pandey in New Delhi)
