Kottayam collector rejects strong room gun-pointing reports

Kottayam: Kottayam district collector Chetan Kumar Meena rejected media reports that claimed that CAPF personnel pointed guns at election officials near the strong room at Baselius College, where voting machines of the Vaikom assembly constituency are stored. Meena, who is also the district election officer, clarified that the reports are completely baseless and do not reflect the actual situation. He explained that certain concerns arose regarding the custody of strong room keys. In response, he personally visited the site along with general observers. The safety concerns related to safety measures of strong rooms were addressed in a transparent manner in the presence of the general observer, returning officer, representatives of political parties, and agents of candidates as per established norms of ECI, the collector said. Meena further emphasized that no untoward incident occurred at any stage. There was absolutely no instance of security personnel pointing guns, as alleged in the reports, he said. The district administration urged media outlets and the public to refrain from spreading unverified information.