FIR registered against Solapur BLO for negligence in SIR duty

Kolhapur: An FIR was registered on Friday night against a Solapur Municipal Corporation clerk serving as a booth-level officer for alleged negligence in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.

The case pertains to the officer’s failure to complete assigned duties on time and alleged disregard of directions issued by election authorities in accordance with Election Commission guidelines.Ramchandra Sahebrao Mali (57), assistant voter registration officer for the Solapur City North Assembly constituency, filed a complaint with the Sadar Bazaar police, following which the FIR was registered under Section 134 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which deals with breach of official duty related to elections.

The police have launched an investigation into the matter.The Election Commission had directed that the SIR programme in the Solapur City North constituency be carried out on a war footing ahead of its scheduled completion by July 20. As part of the exercise, the municipal corporation clerk was appointed BLO.Election officials said on June 27, 2026, the BLO was instructed to collect voter registration forms from the election office and distribute them among voters in his assigned area.

He, however, failed to collect or distribute the forms, resulting in delays in the revision process, the officials said.According to the officials, when the work remained incomplete, the supervisor made several attempts to contact the BLO by phone, but the phone was switched off. The supervisor later visited both his residence and office but was unable to locate him. Consequently, a show-cause notice was issued to the officer on July 1, but the BLO allegedly continued to avoid election-related duties.Confirming the development, Solapur deputy collector and voter registration officer Amolsingh Bhosale said, “Despite receiving the notice, the BLO continued to evade election work. Therefore, a case has been registered against him for obstructing an important national task like elections, negligence, delay and disobeying the orders of his superiors.”