MEERUT: A booth-level officer (BLO) was suspended after an inquiry found prima facie irregularities in the deletion of 26 voters’ names from the electoral roll of Mohammadpur gram panchayat in Bareilly district ahead of the panchayat elections.
He also accused Gangwar of targeting him after he allegedly refused to create 12 bogus voter entries. He maintained that the voters concerned had themselves confirmed that they no longer lived in Mohammadpur and that he had informed the incumbent pradhan before the deletions. Bareilly DM Avinash Singh confirmed that the administration had ordered an inquiry after receiving the complaint. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Meerut | Silver Rate in Meerut | Bank Holidays in Meerut | Public Holidays in Meerut | Meerut AQI | Weather in Meerut | Petrol Price in Meerut | Diesel Price in Meerut | CNG Price in Meerut | LPG Price in Meerut Stay updated with the latest Meerut news.
Khan rejected the charges and told TOI that the deleted names belonged to people who had either left the village or moved elsewhere after marriage. “Incumbent pradhan Rahul Gangwar lodged a complaint on the IGRS portal, alleging that Khan, in collusion with former pradhan Rehan Khan, got the names removed,” Singh said. Officials said Khan could neither produce supporting records nor give a satisfactory reason for the deletions.
Former pradhan Rehan Khan also denied any involvement in the alleged irregularities. Rehan maintained that neither he nor the BLO had singled out voters on religious grounds and dismissed the allegation of collusion. A three-member committee constituted at the SDM and BDO level examined the complaint and sought an explanation from the BLO. The panel found prima facie violations of the prescribed procedure, following which basic shiksha adhikari (BSA) Dr Vineeta suspended him with immediate effect. Download the TOI App.
Incumbent village pradhan Rahul Gangwar had lodged a complaint on the Integrated Grievance Redressal System (IGRS) portal, accusing Khan of conspiring with former pradhan Rehan Khan to remove the 26 names.
The inquiry followed a complaint alleging that he had acted in collusion with a former village pradhan, accepted money and “targeted voters on religious grounds”. The three-member committee found that the BLO had failed to produce documents or valid reasons for removing the names. Both men denied the allegations, while district authorities ordered a further investigation to establish whether the deletions were deliberate or the result of procedural lapses. The suspended BLO, Nafees Mohammad Khan, worked as an assistant teacher at Composite School, Mohammadpur, in Shergarh block. Several villagers, including Ved Prakash, Hemkali, Lalita Devi, Rakesh and Dhakan Lal, submitted affidavits supporting the complaint.