“CCTV Switched Off For 45 Minutes”: Supriya Sule Alleges Wrongdoing At Godowns Storing EVMs In Baramati (image-X/supriya_sule)

NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader Supriya Sule shared a video on her official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle raising concerns about the CCTV cameras in a godown where Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were kept after the voting was over at the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency were allegedly switched off for 45 minutes.

“After the polling of Baramati Lok Sabha Constituency, the CCTV in godown where the EVMs are kept was switched off for 45 minutes this morning. It is suspicious that the CCTV is switched off where a very important thing like EVM is kept,” she stated in the tweet.

Describing the incident as a “big laxity,” Sule claimed that upon being contacted by the election representatives, the concerned authorities and administration gave “no satisfactory answers.” She further alleged that while no technician was available to fix the cameras, the party’s representatives were also not allowed to inspect the status of the EVMs.

“When the election representatives contacted the concerned authorities and administration, no satisfactory answers were received. Apart from this, technician is also not available at the said place. Also, our representatives are not allowed to inspect the EVM status,” she alleged.

The working president of the party, Sule, is also in the race for the Baramati seat, facing her sister-in-law, Sunetra A. Pawar, wife of NCP chief Ajit Pawar.

Sule called the incident “suspicious” and urged the Election Commission to probe into the matter and disclose the reasons behind the CCTV being switched off. She also asked the EC to take strict action against those responsible for it.

Kavita Dwivedi, the Baramati returning officer, said that upon investigation, it was found that an electrician had removed a cable at the godown, leading to cameras being switched off, as per The Free Press Journal.

बारामती लोकसभा मतदारसंघाचे मतदान पार पडल्यानंतर त्या इव्हिएम ज्या गोडावूनमध्ये ठेवल्या आहेत, तेथील सीसीटिव्ही आज सकाळी ४५ मिनिटे बंद पडले होते. इव्हिएमसारखी अतिशय महत्वाची गोष्ट जेथे ठेवलेली आहे, तेथील सीसीटिव्ही बंद पडणे ही बाब संशयास्पद आहे. तसेच हा खुप मोठा हलगर्जीपणा देखील… pic.twitter.com/8HmqR2icHn

— Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) May 13, 2024