Mohammed Mohsin, the election officer who had been posted as the general observer in Odisha and was in the news for allegedly checking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chopper in Sambalpur, has now been asked by the Election Commission to leave Sambalpur and to report to the Office of Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer.
According to a notification issued by the poll body on 20 April, Mohsin’s headquarters have been changed to Bengaluru with immediate effect. He is required to leave Odisha immediately.
Suspended for ‘Dereliction of Duty’
Mohsin had been suspended on Wednesday, 17 April, for acting ‘contrary to the instructions of the Commission concerning SPG protectees, in violation of the laid down norms’, a poll panel letter dated 16 April said.
The EC took action against Mohsin on the basis of a report from the district collector and the DIG of police.
“The Commission has considered the material available before it and prima facie finds it dereliction of duty,” the letter suspending Mohsin read.
“Checking of the prime minister's chopper, undertaken at Sambalpur, was not in accordance with the EC guidelines as SPG protectees are exempt from checking,” a senior official had said.
PM Modi was reportedly held up on Tuesday at the place for around 15 minutes because of the sudden checking, the official said.
Who Is Mohsin?
A 1996 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, Mohsin was working under the supervision of the poll panel in Odisha. He had been working for the backward class welfare department under the Government of Karnataka since June 2016.
Mohsin had started his twenty-three-year long career as an IAS officer as a Sub Divisional Magistrate of Kundapur district of Karnataka.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)