A police constable attached to the Sewree police station in central Mumbai has been suspended for violating election confidentiality rules by taking a photo of his postal ballot paper and making it viral. An FIR was registered against 40-year-old Riyaz Pathan at the Sir JJ Marg police station in November. Pathan had cast his vote for the Koregaon Assembly constituency in Satara through the postal voting system at the Byculla facilitation center.
During the preliminary inquiry, officials asked the constable why he sent the picture. He claimed he wanted to show his friend the name of the candidate he voted for. However, his friend forwarded the picture to others and posted it on various social media platforms which went viral.
“We are investigating to determine if there was any foul play,” the officer said.
This is the second such incident involving the Mumbai police, as a constable from the Local Arms unit was booked last week and subsequently suspended for a similar offense.
