Young Woman Prevented From Voting In Thrissur; Child Rights Commission Takes Suo Motu Case
Kurkkanchery, Thrissur: The Child Rights Commission has taken up a case on its own after something bad happened in Kurkkanchery, Thuris. A young woman named Akshaya was not allowed to mark her vote. She had to wait for a very long time. The woman identified, Akshaya, lives in Kannamkulangara. The woman had an injury in her hand finger.
The election officials said she could not cast vote because they could not apply the ink on her injured finger. Akshaya went to the polling booth at 1:30 PM. She could only vote at 6:00 PM, after waiting for four and a half hours with her baby.
The incident sparked outrage after it became news. The Chief Electoral Officer had to step in, finally enabling Akshaya to exercise her democratic right to vote. The incident occurred at Booth No. 205 in Thuris. Akshaya showed the booth officials the doctor’s note, which explained what happened to her finger. The officer said she had to remove the bandage and that they did not believe her.
Akshaya said the officials told her they could only put the ink on another finger if her left finger was completely injured. Even when other people tried to help, including CPI leader V. S. Sunil Kumar, the officer did not listen.
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The Child Rights Commission has inquired for an explanation from the District Collector regarding the handling of the situation, particularly the inconvenience caused because she was wait to 4 hours to make her vote. Akshaya later stated that she hopes such an experience does not happen to anyone else. After finally being allowed to vote, the ink was applied below the stitched portion of her finger.
(This story is part of a Timeline. internship project “Whom They Voted For: Celebrating The Election Festival”. This internship project is being organised aimed at helping young minds understand the electoral process of the country.)
