Odisha school teacher suspended for 'dereliction' of duty as BLO

BHUBANESWAR: A school teacher in Bhubaneswar was suspended for alleged dereliction of duty while performing election-related responsibilities as a Booth Level Officer (BLO), according to a notification.

Rashmi Sahoo, an assistant teacher at Government High School, Chandrasekharpur Phase-II, had been appointed as a BLO for the SIR of electoral rolls, said the notification issued by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC). However, she failed to attend and properly discharge her assigned duties related to the SIR exercise without any valid reason or prior authorisation.

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This amounted to gross negligence, dereliction of duty, and disobedience of lawful orders, it said. The order noted that such failure constitutes misconduct and violates provisions of the Representation of the People Acts, along with applicable service conduct rules.

"Therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 32(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, Chanchal Rana, District Election Officer-cum-Commissioner, BMC, has placed Rashmi Sahoo under suspension with immediate effect," the notification said.

The SIR exercise in Odisha is slated to begin on April 1.