By Shankar Raj*
Hyderabad: Just days after elections were announced for the Telangana Assembly, the State has been awash with liquor and cash, forcing the Election Commission (EC) to step in and boot out four district collectors, three other Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers heading crucial departments, three commissioners of police and 10 police superintendents citing ‘unsatisfactory’ work.
The officers were told to step down immediately and hand over charge to junior officers.
In a strong note to Chief Secretary Shanti Kumari, the Election Commission asked her not to assign any duties to the officers who have been shunted out till the election process was over.
Also read:
- Can Modi’s rallies pull a surprise in Telangana?
- Telangana: Can the Congress prevent BRS hattrick?
- November is the election month in 5 states
The Election Commission had reviewed the functioning of all the Collectors, Commissioners and Superintendents of Police (SPs) in the State and found that 17 of them failed to curb cash flow, maintain the purity of electoral rolls and ensure inducement-free elections.
The Chief Secretary was told to hand over the additional charge of the Principal Secretary (Excise and Endowment) to a new officer as the Election Commission found a large flow of liquor.
In three days after the model code of conduct came into force, authorities seized over ₹10 crore unaccounted cash and gold worth ₹6 crore.
The Election Commission also identified 10,969 critical poll booths across the state.
*Shankar Raj is a former Editor of The New Indian Express, Karnataka and Kerala, and writes regularly on current affairs.
