Vandana Suryavanshi, the returning officer for the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency, clarified on Sunday that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are standalone systems that do not require an OTP to unlock.
This statement was in response to a Mid-day newspaper report alleging that a relative of Shiv Sena candidate Ravindra Waikar used a mobile phone connected to an EVM during the vote count on June 4. Waikar won by a narrow margin of 48 votes.
"The EVM is a standalone system and does not need an OTP to unlock it. We have issued a notice to Mid-day newspaper under sections 499 and 505 of the Indian Penal Code for defamation and spreading false news," Suryavanshi announced at a press conference.
The controversy arose when Mangesh Pandilkar, Waikar's brother-in-law, was booked on Wednesday for allegedly using a mobile phone at a counting center on June 4, the day election results were announced.
According to a Vanrai police station official, the case was registered due to Pandilkar's alleged actions at a counting center in Goregaon, part of Waikar's constituency.
"Pandilkar was booked following a complaint from polling personnel Dinesh Gurav. An independent candidate noticed Pandilkar using a mobile phone despite a ban on such devices at the counting center and alerted the returning officer. The RO then approached Vanrai police," the official explained.
Pandilkar has been booked under Indian Penal Code section 188 for disobeying an official order.
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