Agartala: The Election Commission (EC) on Friday ordered the removal of three police officers for not taking “appropriate action in time” after political violence broke out in the Jirania sub-division in Tripura on Wednesday.
The EC ordered action against the Jirania Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Officer-in-charge of Rani Bazar Police Station, and officer-in-charge of Jirania Police Station.
Earlier in the day, the poll panel had ordered an inquiry into the political violence in Jirania that led to Congress Tripura in-charge Ajoy Kumar being injured.
Expressing displeasure against the police over the incident, the EC said the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, Tripura were asked to explain as to why the situation escalated despite a sufficient number of CAPF personnel deployed in the State.
“The Commission conveyed its displeasure in no uncertain and strongest terms on the violent incident despite the Commission’s strict directions during a visit to the state and thereafter. CS & DGP were directed to ensure level playing field for all political parties and to initiate strict action against partisan officers,” the EC said.
“The Commission has directed CS & DGP to take stringent action against SDPO Jirania sub-division by suspending or removing him, action against Officer-in-charge of Rani Bazar Police Station and Officer-in-charge of Jirania Police Station by removing them”, the order of ECI reads.
The ECI has also directed CS and DGP to immediately assess the threat perception to the leaders of various political parties in the State and provide security as per the threat perception without further delay.
“Chief Electoral Officer, Tripura was directed to reiterate to the District Election Officers to facilitate the permission to political parties on first-cum-first basis and popularise the SUVIDHA App for disposing off applications of political parties for meetings, rallies, roadshows, etc,” it reads.
The Commission has also appointed three Special Observers and have been asked to proceed to Tripura immediately to take stock of the situation, ensure proper deployment of CAPF, intensify enforcement measures and report back to the Commission.
The three special observers are Yogendra Tripathy, Vivek Johri and B. Murali Kumar.
The EC said that the state government had informed it that Kumar “sustained minor injuries in an unlawful rally (incident happened in the area where permission was not given by district authorities) and it is not true that he received serious injuries”.