Poll official in Odisha suspended for checking PM's chopper

The Election Commission on Wednesday suspended a General Observer for allegedly checking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's helicopter in Odisha's Sambalpur on Tuesday.

Mohammed Mohsin was suspended with immediate effect for acting contrary to the instructions of the Commission concerning SPG protectees and will be posted at Sambalpur till further orders, a poll panel letter dated April 16 said.

A Karnataka cadre officer of the Indian Administrative Service, Mohsin was deputed as a General Observer and working under the supervision of the poll panel in Odisha.

"... the Commission has considered the material available before it and prima facie finds it dereliction of duty," said the letter.

The Prime Minister had visited Odisha on Tuesday and addressed two rallies in Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar.