Lucknow (The Hawk): The senior superintendents of police (SSP) in Mainpuri and Etawah have been asked to respond to the Election Commission's request for information regarding "violations of ECI instructions on transfer and posting of police officials given ongoing by-elections to Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri parliamentary constituency."
They were requested to give justification as to why disciplinary action should not be taken against them by the polling panel.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) petitioned the EC on the Mainpuri Lok Sabha by-election, and the EC responded.
Six police sub-inspectors were also directed to be "immediately relieved" of their duties at their separate Mainpuri police stations by the panel.
The election panel instructed the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh to guarantee free, fair, and orderly elections in each of the by-election-contingent constituencies.
According to a press release from the EC, after hearing from Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, the commission, which was presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and included Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel, gave the two SSPs instructions to "show cause."
According to the press release, the election panel had instructed the Mainpuri SSP to immediately discharge sub-inspectors Suresh Chand, Kadir Shah, Sudhir Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Satya Bhan, and Raj Kumar Goswami from their police stations in the city's several assembly districts.
The EC has requested an explanation from the Mainpuri SSP regarding why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for failing to follow the commission's directives and the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) requirements when carrying out the transfer and posting of police officers.
The EC further requested the Etawah SSP to provide justification for not facing discipline for granting extended leave to four SHOs (station house officers) of the police stations in Vaidpura, Bharthana, Jaswant Nagar, and Chaubiya without the commission's prior approval following the imposition of MCC.
The CEO UP has also been asked to make sure that force deployment related to the Mainpuri by-elections is rigorously done under the observation of the appropriate General and Police observers, adhering to the established protocol, according to the EC statement.
(Inputs from Agencies)