An attempt by a central observer to bypass strong room lockdown protocols in Kerala sparked a tense encounter on Thursday evening in Kottayam, where CISF personnel allegedly turned their weapons on local election officials, officials attached to the office of the state chief electoral officer said.
The executives added that the confrontation broke out at Basileus College, the designated strong room that houses electronic voting machines (EVMs) for the Vaikom constituency.
Ranjit Kumar Sinha, a 2005 batch IAS officer, has been appointed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) as Central Controller for Kaduthuruthi, Vaikom (SC) and Ettumanur seats. After polling ended on April 9, Sinha ordered the keys to the strong room locks to be locked and left attached to the locks, with officials keeping only backup copies. Sinha cited this as a standard practice in states like West Bengal and Assam, officials said.
“Under Kerala’s procedure, a strong room has two separate locks. The Returning Officer (RO) keeps one key and the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) keeps the other, ensuring that the room can only be opened if both are present,” senior state executives said, adding, “The direction of the controller could have changed this system by leaving the keys at the door, instead of maintaining double guarding.”
The directive raised immediate objections from the Kottayam West police on security grounds, as well as from the Regional Bureau of Investigation, the executives said. Ettumanoor UDF candidate and DCC chief Nattakam Suresh and election agent G Gopakumar also lodged a formal complaint with district collector Chetan Kumar Meena and Kerala state chief executive Rathan U Kelkar.
“During the process of re-securing the strong room as per established protocol, a tense situation arose between CISF personnel, state police and state election officials as CISF was acting on the instructions of the Controller. However, the matter was resolved after consultation between the Controller and the District Collector,” the executives said.
The standoff ended with an agreement to follow Kerala’s original procedure; The keys were handed over to the RO and ARO. The room’s sturdy doors were then secured with additional reinforcements, including plywood sheets and clapboard.
When HT contacted Sinha to seek his response on the matter, he did not respond to queries.
CEO Kelkar said that the EVMs and VVPATs were stored in strong rooms in the presence of the candidates or their representatives under the supervision of central observers. “The entire process has been videotaped and a two-tier armed security system has been put in place along with CCTV surveillance. The candidates have been informed to depute representatives to monitor the security arrangements and are allowed to remain outside the internal security perimeter,” he said.
He added that the strong rooms will be opened on the day of the counting in the presence of the candidates or their representatives and central observers under videotaping. The counting of votes in Vaikom (SC) constituency in Kottayam district is scheduled to take place on May 4.
