BHUBANESWAR: Ahead of the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise in the state beginning April 1, an assistant teacher in the state capital, serving as a booth-level officer (BLO), was placed under suspension on Thursday for alleged negligence in duty.
The suspended teacher Rashmi Sahoo was posted at the Government High School, Chandrasekharpur in Bhubaneswar. As per the suspension order issued by district election officer (DEO) and municipal commissioner Chanchal Rana, Sahoo had been appointed as the BLO for booth no 109 of 113 (Bhubaneswar North) Assembly constituency for the SIR of electoral roll in the locality.
However, the DEO received report that Sahoo failed to attend and properly discharge her assigned duties related to the SIR work without any valid reason or prior authorisation, amounting to exhibition of gross negligence, dereliction of duty and disobedience of lawful orders.
“The duties assigned to BLO are statutory in nature and are essential for maintaining accuracy and integrity of the electoral roll. However, failure to perform such duties constitute misconduct and violates both the provisions of the Representation of People Act 1951 and service conduct rules,” Rana stated.
Accordingly, he ordered suspension of Sahoo with immediate effect, and directed that during the period of her suspension, the assistant teacher will not leave the headquarters without prior permission.
An official from BMC said performance of the BLO in carrying out SIR-related works such as door-to-door survey and verification for mapping of voters was very poor and despite multiple complaints in this regard, her work didn’t improve.
As it is, the SIR 2026 is scheduled to commence in the state from April 1. The exercise includes comprehensive voter list revision to update the electoral roll by verifying voter details, removing duplicates or ineligible entries and ensuring accuracy. The BLOs play a key role in it.