Call for action against municipal secy gets louder

Kozhikode: Koduvally panchayat authorities and UDF have intensified their demand for taking action against the municipal secretary over the alleged large-scale irregularities in the deletion and shifting of voters from the electoral role, after a preliminary inquiry found that mandatory procedures were not followed and related files were missing from the office.Assistant electoral registration officer and municipal assistant secretary P Sindhu, in a letter to municipal chairperson Vellara Abdu, confirmed that crucial documents, including records of the distribution of Forms 5, 13 and 15 submitted by voters across 37 wards and notices or supporting papers related to bulk voter transfers, were missing from the municipal office. The deputy director of the local self-govt department, who inspected the office, also found serious irregularities in the voter list.The municipal secretary has reportedly been absent from duty for the past week. Last week, voters whose names were deleted or shifted in bulk staged a protest in front of the collectorate and submitted a written complaint to the district collector. However, with the secretary still absent, no proper response could be provided, leading to continued uncertainty and growing protests in the municipality.Meanwhile, the State Election Commission has directed the department secretary concerned to immediately transfer Koduvally municipal secretary V S Manoj for unauthorised absence from duty amid election-related proceedings and to initiate further action.The deputy director's inspection confirmed the lapses, and a report has been submitted to the collector recommending follow-up action.Abdu alleged that the irregularities were deliberate and carried out under the influence of the LDF using the secretary's login credentials. He demanded immediate action against the municipal secretary and that the voters list should be submitted afresh. UDF leaders said that they suspect that the secretary had taken away the files related to the updation of voters list.