Madhya Pradesh: EC Acknowledges CCTV Failure Outside Bhopal Strongroom
The Election Commission cited power failure as reason for CCTV Cameras not functioning for more than an hour.
The Election Commission (EC) on December 1, acknowledged that closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed outside the strongroom in Bhopal had stopped functioning for more than an hour on Friday, December 30. Reportedly, a power cut had caused the CCTVs to stop working.
Releasing a statement on the matter on Saturday, the EC said, “A report obtained from the Bhopal Collector states that CCTV cameras and an LED display installed outside the strongroom did not function from 8:19AM to 9:35AM on November 30 due to failure of electricity supply. Because of this, recording could not be done during the given time period. An additional LED screen, an inverter and a generator have been installed in order to ensure continuous electricity supply.”
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NDTV reported that the CCTV cameras were functioning without any problems and two cordons of security officials were deputised to ensure Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) kept in the strongroom. “The security force is also maintaining a logbook, and the machines are perfectly safe,” EC said in its statement.
In its statement, EC also said action had been taken against the official who had delayed the depositing of EVMs in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. “The responsible Nayab Tehsildar Sri Rajesh Mehra has been suspended for the delayed submission of machines,” said the EC statement.
Reportedly, EVMs reached the collection centre in Sagar in an unregistered school transport bus on Friday, two days after elections were conducted in the state. Countering allegations of EVM tampering, the EC said that these were reserve machines and the ones used in the elections had not been tampered with.