Strong rooms, unsealed rooms should not be opened under any circumstance: EC
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The EC on Tuesday issued clear directions to all district election officers and returning officers in Kerala not to open any strong rooms or unsealed rooms in counting centres under any circumstances before the day of counting.
The direction was issued by Kerala Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rathan U Kelkar following reports that a strong room storing EVMs in the Perambra constituency in Kozhikode was opened on Monday, and that there were reported plans to open another in the Nenmara constituency in Palakkad.
“It has been reiterated that under no circumstances shall any strong rooms or unsealed rooms be opened or accessed for the purpose of preparing Index Cards or verifying data on the ENCORE portal.
“All concerned officers have been directed to ensure strict compliance with these instructions to safeguard the integrity, transparency, and security of the electoral process,” a statement issued by Kelkar’s office said.
Responding to a TV channel’s query on the matter, senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan said that, according to election laws and rules, no one is supposed to go near strong rooms.
“So, why was the material room kept close to the strong room? There is something suspicious about it. The party and the UDF are looking into the matter very seriously. There has to be a proper probe into the matter,” he contended.
“Overall, it appears that steps are being taken by the state and central governments to sabotage the people’s verdict. That is what we understand from these incidents,” he claimed.
Later in the day, Palakkad District Collector Madhavikutty M S, in a statement, termed reports that the strong room containing electronic voting machines used in the Nenmara constituency had been opened as incorrect.
The collector said the returning officer had informed representatives of all candidates that a room where election documents were kept would be opened to prepare ENCORE data before the counting of votes.
This room was in the same building as the strong room, and representatives of the candidates and videography teams were present at the centre in the morning, the statement said.
However, in view of the spread of false news that the strong room had been opened, the collector, as instructed by the chief electoral officer, directed the RO not to open the room containing election documents, it said.
The collector also instructed all returning officers not to open any rooms at counting centres where EVMs are kept before counting begins, without instructions from the CEO.
On Monday, the Kozhikode district administration had clarified that no strong room was opened.
Collector Snehil Kumar Singh, who is also the district election officer, had said that an unsealed “material room” at JDT Islam Higher Secondary School was opened in the presence of candidates’ agents to verify and update polling records.
He said in a statement that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and VVPATs were securely stored in a sealed strong room on the first floor of the building under the supervision of central observers and candidates’ agents, and that the strong room had not been opened.
However, leaders of the Congress and the party-led UDF alleged that the incident amounted to a violation of election rules.
The results of the April 9 Assembly polls in 140 constituencies in the state will be declared on May 4.
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21 hours raid fetch nothing for ED, claims Karnataka Cong MLA’s son
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Congress MLA N A Haris' son Mohammed Haris Nalapad on Tuesday claimed that the 21 hours of search by the ED in his house and other locations did not fetch anything.
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday raided the premises of the two sons of Haris (Mohammed Haris Nalapad and Omar Farook Nalapad), Aqeeb Khan, grandson of ex-Union cabinet minister K Rahman Khan and an alleged crypto hacker named Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki in a crypto currency-linked money laundering case.
More than a dozen premises in the city have been covered as part of the action executed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
"My grandfather is 89-year-old. There is not a single bad mark. My father (N A Haris) is a four-time MLA. There is not a single accusation against him. Their only intention was to target myself and my brother. As simple as that," Mohammed Nalapad, who is a former Karnataka Youth Congress president, told reporters.
According to him, the ED officials carried out raids for 21 hours.
"After 21 hours of search, they took away only two mobile phones from our house. They did not get a single paisa. The ED will testify it," the Congress leader said.
Exuding faith in the law, he said he is ready to fight the case in court.
"Me and my father have opted for politics and we are in public life. You can call me whatever you want but I have not done anything wrong," Mohammed Nalapad said.
Regarding his relationship with Sriki, he said he knew him but had no clue what he was doing.
"I have never said that either me or my brother do not know Sriki. But how will I know what he does in his house? Can his crimes be linked to us," he asked.
The money laundering case stems from some Karnataka Police FIRs and chargesheets filed in a 2017 case of hacking of national and international websites, stealing of bitcoins and sale of these 'stolen' virtual digital assets (VDA) through crypto platforms by the alleged hacker Sriki and his associates.
The Nalapad brothers and Aqeeb Khan are alleged to be the beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime generated through this alleged crypto-linked crime, the ED said.
