Constable suspended for violating election confidentiality rules, photographing his postal ballot
The Mumbai police have registered a case against a 40-year-old police constable, who has also been suspended from the department, for allegedly breaching election confidentiality rules by sharing a photo of his postal ballot paper.
This is the second such incident involving the Mumbai police, as a constable from the Local Arms unit was booked last week and subsequently suspended for a similar offense.
According to police officials, the constable has been identified as Riyaz Pathan, who was posted at the Sewri police station in south Mumbai. He had voted in the Koregaon Assembly constituency in Satara district through the postal voting system at the Byculla facilitation center.
Days before the election on November 20, when people in Maharashtra were voting to form a new government, the Election Commission (EC) had set up seven facilitation centers across Mumbai for government employees assigned to election duty. These centers were located in Dharavi, Sion-Koliwada, Sewri, Byculla, Mumbadevi, Colaba, and Malabar Hill.
An officer stated, “Despite being aware of the rules, the constable took his mobile phone into the center and took a picture of his ballot paper after casting his vote. Pathan then shared the picture with his friend in Satara.”
During the preliminary inquiry, when officials asked him why he sent the picture, the constable claimed he wanted to show his friend the name of the candidate he voted for. “We are investigating to determine if there was any foul play,” the officer added.
However, after his friend forwarded the picture to others, it was posted on various social media platforms. The election officer in Satara became aware of the incident and informed the Mumbai police.
“As our constable was involved, we conducted an inquiry and registered a case against him at the JJ Marg police station, as the polling station falls under their jurisdiction. Pathan has since been suspended from the force and has accepted the order,” the officer said.
The police have registered a case under section 223 (Disobedience to Order Promulgated by a Public Servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 128 (Maintenance of Secrecy of Voting) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, at the JJ Marg police station. The constable was served a notice and allowed to go.
Similarly, another Mumbai police constable, identified as Ganesh Ashok Shinde, was recently booked for allegedly violating election confidentiality rules by sharing photographs of his postal ballot paper with relatives in Beed. The photos also went viral on social media, leading to a case being registered at the Gamdevi police station.
