Bhopal BLO dismissed for negligence as voter list revision drive begins

A Booth Level Officer (BLO) in Bhopal was dismissed from duty on Wednesday for negligence, as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive of the voters’ list began in the district on Tuesday.

Bhopal Collector Kaushlendra Vikram Singh ordered the dismissal of Prashant Dubey, an Assistant Grade-III employee serving as the BLO for Booth No. 150 in Govindpura Assembly constituency.

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Dubey, who is employed with Barkatullah University, reportedly failed to report for duty on the first day of the voter verification exercise.

The Collector confirmed that Dubey’s services were terminated for dereliction of duty. Singh also informed that a list of other officials showing negligence during this crucial exercise is being prepared. “Strict action, including dismissal, will be taken against such employees,” the Collector warned.

The SIR drive, a door-to-door voter verification campaign, commenced in Bhopal on Tuesday with senior officials, including the Collector, SDMs, Tehsildars, Nayab Tehsildars, Supervisors and Booth Level Officers (BLOs), visiting households to verify voter details.

According to officials, a total of 2,029 BLOs and 250 supervisors have been deployed to conduct the SIR survey in Bhopal. Each BLO will visit every household up to three times, distributing and collecting the Enumeration Sheet (Ganana Patrak), which is issued in duplicate, one copy for the voter and one for the BLO’s record.

The Collector clarified that no documents will be collected during the verification process. “Verification will be carried out solely on the basis of the enumeration sheet provided to each household,” he said.

Bhopal district currently has around 21 lakh registered voters. The SIR drive in the district is expected to continue for about one month.