Madhya Pradesh govt revokes transfer orders of Bhind collector, SP

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh government on Sunday revoked transfer orders of Bhind collector Ilayaraja T and superintendent of police Anil Singh Kushwaha.
Both were shunted out a week ahead of by-election to Ater Assembly seat in the district against the backdrop of a controversy surrounding the trial of VVPAT machine in Bhind.
It was alleged that the faulty VVPAT was only dispensing slips of the BJP symbol during the familiarisation exercise.The Congress had demanded that voting be done on ballot paper and not electronic voting machines or EVMs, after the VVPAT machine controversy. Bypolls in Ater Assembly constituency in Bhind district and at Bandhavgarh Assembly segment in Umaria district took place on April 9.
The Election Commission has maintained that EVMs were rigged, rejecting the demand for paper ballot but had got both Collector and SP transferred from Bhind. They were replaced by Kiran Gopal and S Saxena respectively.
There was a massive protest in Bhind following the transfers late on. Local residents, traders, farmers students and took to the streets to register their protest against the transfer of district collector Illayaraja T.
The district was facing several issues ranging from female infanticide, sand mining, celebratory fires, mass copying in exams, when Illayaraja joined as Bhind collector in October 2015. He resolved the issues to a large extent.
To curb mass copying, this 2009 batch IAS officer had initiated a unique painting campaign with an objective of creating awareness among parents and students against copying. More than 80 per cent of the examination centres in Bhind were tagged as ‘sensitive or highly sensitive”.
The bypoll in Ater was won by the Congress' Hemant Katare, whose father Satyadev was Congress' legislator from the seat and had died recently. Congress had fielded Hemant hoping to cash in on a sympathy wave, sources said. Results were announced on April 13.