EC denies poll officer removed for stopping Robert Vadra's convoy

NEW DELHI,Febrauary7,2012: The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday denied reports that a district election officer (DEO) in Uttar Pradesh was transferred for stopping the convoy of Robert Vadra, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law."The commission has come across some unwarranted references in the media regarding its decision to re-deploy an officer Pawan Kumar Sen, presently on election duty in CSM Nagar as a DEO in the state of Goa," an Election Commission statement said. Vadra was on Monday stopped by authorities in the district for using more vehicles than the permitted 10 bikes ahead of the seven-phased Uttar Pradesh elections beginning Wednesday. According to the commission, the decision to transfer Sen was "baselessly linked to certain enforcement action taken by the particular officer in his capacity as an election observer in an incident involving Vadra in some assembly constituency in CSM Nagar". "The officer acted in accordance with the law and fully in conformity with the instructions of ECI. The decision to post Sen as the DEO south Goa was in process for a week, based on the need to replace the present DEO in that district," it said. "Sen, an IAS officer of the Goa state cadre, was found most suitable for the post and his appointment was accordingly ordered by the commission well before the incident in CSM Nagar took place," it said.