Presiding officer suspended for violating voter secrecy during by

NUAPADA: A violation of voter secrecy was reported at Kuliabandh Booth No. 36, leading to the suspension of the Presiding Officer by the District Election Officer (DEO).

The presiding officer was identified as Dhananjay Mallick.Meanwhile, polling in the Nuapada Assembly by-election picked up pace through the morning, with voter turnout reaching 31.25 per cent by 11 am.

Voting, which began at 7 am on Monday under tight security across 358 polling booths, has so far remained peaceful throughout the constituency.

A total of 2.53 lakh voters are eligible to decide the fate of 14 candidates contesting in this by-poll.Election officials said polling is continuing smoothly across the remaining booths, with security personnel maintaining strict vigilance, particularly at the 47 sensitive and 8 highly sensitive booths in the constituency due to their location in remote and Maoist-affected areas.

Helicopters were deployed earlier to transport polling teams to these booths located inside the Sunabeda Sanctuary.

Earlier in the day, the turnout stood at 14.99 per cent by 9 AM.

According to official sources, the officer failed to maintain voting secrecy when an elderly woman arrived with a companion, who allegedly cast the vote on her behalf. The Presiding Officer did not intervene, following which he was immediately suspended, and disciplinary action has been initiated against him.