Bihar Booth Level Officers Booked For Bribery And Misinformation During Electoral Roll Revision Drive; Administration Launches Crackdown

Police in Bihar have booked two Booth Level Officers (BLOs) on corruption and misconduct charges during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, reported The Indian Express.

In Gaya, officials registered an FIR against BLO Gauri Shankar after a viral video showed him taking money from a voter to process an enumeration form.

Gaya SSP Anand Kumar said police received a complaint Sunday (13 July) about the incident at booth number 119, Urdu Middle School, Nauranga, Manpur block.

The FIR includes Sections 173 and 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

According to the complaint by Ruby Kumari, Mahila Prasar Padadhikari of Manpur, the BLO was seen in a video engaging in a cash transaction with a voter.

The video reportedly shows Shankar demanding money as “tea and refreshments” for processing the form. The complainant stated that “such conduct is in clear violation of service norms.”

In Begusarai district, authorities booked another BLO posted at Part Number 6 of Madarsa Fokania Nurpur (East) in the 144 Matihani Assembly constituency.

A viral video showed the officer, a panchayat teacher, sharing false information about the SIR exercise on a Hindi news channel.

Officials have ordered an inquiry. “Based on preliminary inquiry, an FIR has been registered against the BLO for sharing ‘incorrect and misleading information’ related to the electoral process on a media channel, failing to properly discharge his duties as a BLO, and displaying negligence in the conduct of the SIR,” the administration was quoted as saying.

They suspended the teacher immediately and appointed a replacement, while re-examining all forms collected.

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