A school teacher, Rashmi Sahoo, has been suspended in Bhubaneswar for alleged dereliction of duty while serving as a Booth Level Officer for electoral roll revision. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation said she failed to perform assigned duties without valid reason. Action was taken under the Representation of the People Act ahead of the SIR exercise.

A school teacher in Bhubaneswar was suspended for alleged dereliction of duty while performing election-related responsibilities as a Booth Level Officer (BLO), according to a notification.

Rashmi Sahoo, an assistant teacher at Government High School, Chandrasekharpur Phase-II, had been appointed as a BLO for the SIR of electoral rolls, said the notification issued by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).

However, she failed to attend and properly discharge her assigned duties related to the SIR exercise without any valid reason or prior authorisation. This amounted to gross negligence, dereliction of duty, and disobedience of lawful orders, it said.

The order noted that such failure constitutes misconduct and violates provisions of the Representation of the People Acts, along with applicable service conduct rules.