The Hindu : Front Page : EC shifts Returning Officer in Madurai

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EC shifts Returning Officer in Madurai

J. Balaji and S. Sundar

NEW DELHI/MADURAI: The Election Commission on Saturday issued orders for the immediate transfer of Revenue Divisional Officer and Madurai East Assembly constituency Returning Officer S. Suhumaran.

The authorities have been told to post him out of Madurai district.

The EC's order comes within hours of the allegation made by Mr.Suhumaran charging that he had frequently been asked over phone by Madurai Collector U. Sagayam to file a case against Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister and Madurai DMK MP M.K. Alagiri and his followers.

Though he was maintaining neutrality, Mr. Sagayam was “harassing and pressurising” him to do the illegal act, Mr. Suhumaran charged and added that he had asked the Commission to relieve him from election work. The Returning Officer is presently admitted to a private hospital with complaints of high blood pressure.

However, Mr. Sagayam denied the RO's charge that he pressured him to file a case against Mr. Alagiri.

He said: “Will anybody do like this? I have no time for election work itself. It is a lie.”

There was no need for him to harass any person, he added.

On the charge that he was acting against the ruling partymen, Mr. Sagayam said, “I am only implementing the Election Commission's order in a neutral way for conducting the election in an honest, just and independent manner. Please do not give a political colour to me,” he said.

Earlier, the DMK sent a complaint to Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar against the Collector, accusing him of forcing the RDO to foist a case on Mr Alagiri and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate of the constituency P. Moorthi.

On Friday, the Keezhavalavu police filed a case against Mr. Alagiri, Madurai Deputy Mayor P.M. Mannan and two other DMK functionaries under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code for “assaulting” and “preventing” a Tahsildar and a videographer of an election flying squad from videographing their movement.

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