Election Commission suspends SPO for violating Model Code of Conduct in West Tripura

Apr 04, 2024

Agartala (Tripura) [India], April 5 : The Election Commission has suspended a Special Police Officer (SPO) in West Tripura after he was found attending a political event despite the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in force in the state.
According to a press statement issued by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, on the direction of the poll body, Superintendent of Police (West Tripura), Kiran Kumar, has suspended the SPO Suman Hossain for violating the MCC.
Hossain was attached to Mohanpir police station under West Tripura.
On March 28, he was seen attending a political party event under the jurisdiction of 2/30 polling station, the statement said.
As soon as his act was brought to the notice of the Election Commission, stern action was taken against him, it added.
Earlier, a woman teacher faced similar consequences for a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
Notably, SPOs are unarmed officials attached to police stations who were especially deployed to maintain law and order duty in less troubled areas.
It is noteworthy that the elections are scheduled to be held in two phases in the state of Tripura. The West Tripura seat will go to the polls on April 19, while the East Tripura seat will witness voting on April 26. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.
The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country will be held in seven phases, starting on April 19 and ending on June 1. Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast a vote in the general election.