A woman official from the Excise Department and three of the State government employees, who entered the storage room adjoining the strongroom, where EVMs and VVPAT units from the Madurai Lok Sabha constituency were kept on Saturday, have been placed under suspension.
S. Srinivasan, an office assistant, Raja Prakash, an assistant, and Surya Prakash, a data entry operator with Madurai Corporation, had accompanied K. Sampoornam, Special Tahsildar at the Assistant Commissioner (Excise) office in Madurai, to the counting centre.
Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo told journalists here on Sunday that the District Election Officer (DEO) had been asked to submit a detailed report on whether Ms. Sampooranam had permission to enter the storage room, where “some papers, seal and other documents” were kept.
“We sought a report from the DEO,” he said. A showcause notice has been issued to M. Guruchandran, Assistant Commissioner (Excise), the designated Assistant Returning Officer for the Madurai West Assembly segment that comes under the Madurai parliamentary constituency.