Teacher suspended as polling officer for clicking a selfie inside booth in UP

PTI, May 22, 2024, 9:43 AM IST

Lucknow: An assistant teacher posted as a polling officer in Hamirpur for the Lok Sabha elections was suspended on Tuesday for clicking a selfie inside the polling booth.

Ashish Kumar Arya, an assistant teacher at Girls Primary School, Umri in Muskara Development Block in Hamirpur district, was deployed on duty as Polling Officer (First) at polling station 112 of Shri Vidya Mandir Inter College, Hamirpur, UP’s Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said in a statement on Tuesday.

Rinwa said that it is alleged that Arya took selfies with his mobile phone and took photographs of voters on the day of voting, which is a clear violation of the instructions of the Election Commission.

He said that due to this “serious violation”, the District Basic Education Officer of Hamirpur has suspended Arya and has attached him to the Block resource centre in Muskara.

The Block Education Officer headquarters has been designated as the investigating officer to probe the matter, the statement said.

The Chief Electoral Officer has cautioned the polling personnel to strictly follow the instructions of the commission during the election process and avoid any kind of inappropriate activities, it said.