Three teachers booked for neglecting census, poll duties

Pune: Separate police cases have been registered against three teachers for allegedly neglecting government-assigned census and voter verification duties in the district.In the first case, the Wadgaon Maval police booked two teachers appointed as census enumerators after they allegedly remained absent from work between May 16 and 23 despite repeated reminders from authorities. An officer from the tehsil office lodged a complaint stating that the duo, posted at schools in Chandkhed and Boravli villages of Maval taluka, failed to respond to calls and had switched off their cellphones.The police said the teachers were appointed by the central and state governments for census work. They have been booked under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant provisions of the Census Act.In another incident, the Bharati Vidyapeeth police registered a case against a school teacher from Ambegaon Budruk for allegedly neglecting duties of a Booth Level Officer (BLO). According to the complaint filed by revenue officer Amol Barhate, the teacher failed to carry out verification of the 2024 voters’ list despite being issued an appointment order by the Purandar tehsildar’s office.Earlier this month, the Hadapsar police had registered a case against seven teachers from a school in Phursungi for allegedly neglecting Population Census 2026 duties.The census work is under way in Maharashtra. Enumerators will visit every home till June 14 to collect data. All enumerators will carry official identification.The Special Intensive Review (SIR) of voter’s list is slated to begin in the state from June 30. Its primary objective is to map voters to the 2002 electoral list and remove names of illegal or duplicate voters. The designated booth level officers (BLOs) will conduct house-to-house visits and distribute pre-filled enumeration forms.Citizens successfully mapped (from the 2002 voters’ list to the latest voters’ list) ahead of the SIR in Maharashtra will not have to furnish documents when the enumerators visit home between June 30 and July 29. Those whose mapping showed anomalies or citizens who did not participate in the exercise at all will need to show one of 11 documents to be on the voters’ list after the SIR.The draft electoral roll will be published on Aug 5, and the final roll will be published on Oct 7. The qualifying date for the revision is Oct 1, 2026.