Pilibhit voter roll: UP CEO directs statewide deactivation of ECINET IDs for data operators

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa has directed district election officers to deactivate the ECINET portal IDs of computer assistants at voter registration centres across the state, following complaints of alleged misuse of login credentials in Pilibhit.

The district election officers have also been asked to obtain confirmation from the respective electoral registration officers (EROs) after the login IDs of the computer assistants working as operators under them are deactivated.

Also Read: INDIA bloc rally: Opposition leaders accuse Centre of blocking protesters, raise concerns over voting rights


The action follows an inquiry into alleged irregularities in 10,470 voter entries in the Assembly constituency, 127-Pilibhit.

The probe found that a computer assistant had allegedly misused login IDs on the ECINET portal and entered 13,779 Form-8 applications for changes in voter details between May 31 and August 29, of which 10,470 were approved and 3,309 rejected.

However, no application forms or supporting documents related to these entries were found in the office.

Also Read: '130 million voters' cannot be cut from electoral rolls: Shashi Tharoor ahead of INDIA Bloc rally

The district election officers have also been directed to personally verify the action taken in all Assembly constituencies and submit compliance reports to the chief electoral officer's office without delay, an official statement said.

Further, the CEO has directed the firm concerned to immediately terminate the services of the outsourced computer assistant allegedly involved in the case pertaining to the 127-Pilibhit Assembly constituency.

The authorities had ordered legal action against the computer assistant and two serving and former Electoral Registration Officers under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Departmental proceedings were also initiated against the two officers. The controversy erupted following complaints that different voters were found to have identical EPIC numbers.