Chennai: Election Commission on Monday ordered suspension of former Madurai East Assembly constituency Returning Officer S Suhumuaran, who had accused District Election Officer and Collector U Sahayam of harassing him to file cases against Union Minister M K Alagiri and his men.
EC also directed the Tamil Nadu government to initiate disciplinary action against Suhumaran, who was only two days ago ordered to be moved out of politically-sensitive Madurai district of which he was the Revenue Divisional Officer.
"Election Commission of India has directed the state government to initiate disciplinary proceedings for major penalty against S Suhumaran and also to place the officer under suspension pending disciplinary proceedings." a terse statement from the Chief Electoral Officer said in Chennai.
On Saturday, Suhumaran had accused Sahayam of harassing and pressuring him to file cases against Alagiri, son of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, and party workers.
Suhumaran had charged that Sahayam, who was posted to the district by the Election Commission as part of an official shake up ahead of the polls, telephoned him frequently and was harassing him though he was maintaining a neutral stand.
Suhumaran was admitted to a private hospital on Saturday itself after he complained of high blood pressure. He had also written a letter to Election Commission, requesting it to relieve him from election related work.
Madurai, where Alagiri wields tremendous clout, is considered politically sensitive. Alagiri had criticized Sahayam recently for reportedly stating that it was natural for people to look for a change during elections.
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