Chandigarh, February 6
The inquiry against Punjab Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi in a case of his enrolment as a voter at several places in Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts will also bring under the scanner the role of deputy commissioner-cum-district electoral officers posted in these districts in 2012.

The record pertaining to enrolment of Joshi and seven of his family members has reportedly gone missing from the electoral registration offices in Amritsar and Tarn Taran. This came to light when the Election Commission of India (ECI) started investigating the complaint against Joshi and his family members.

The role of deputy commissioner-cum-district electoral officers posted in the two districts at that time and the electoral registration officers concerned would now be under scrutiny, sources said.

Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, VK Singh, said he had been busy checking election preparedness in the state ever since he took charge of the post this week and had not yet studied the case properly.

“At the outset, the inquiry sent to me focuses more on the role of employees who let the record go missing, and those involved in enrolling the minister and his family members as voters at several places. I will now have to check if any notice for explanation was issued to Joshi or other officials, and will then fix responsibility and initiate action,” he said.

He said he would seek legal opinion to check under what provisions they could proceed against those involved in the case. The Election Commission has reportedly asked them to proceed under different provisions of the Representation of People’s Act, 1950, and submit an action-taken report by February 27, 2014. Sources said the matter could be referred to the Advocate General, Punjab, for legal opinion.