The Election Commission on Friday ordered re-polling at an Assam booth and suspended four polling officials and a police officer after an electronic voting machine was found in a car owned by a BJP candidate’s wife following Thursday’s voting.

The four polling officials, including a presiding officer, were in the car, accompanying the EVM from a booth in the Ratabari Assembly constituency to the strong room in Karimganj town, 350km south of Guwahati.

On the way, a mob attacked the car and the officials, alleging the voting machine was being taken to be tampered with. In purported videos of the incident, an EVM can be clearly identified through the windows of the car, which had slowed down, and the mob would have spotted it.

After Opposition leaders questioned the commission’s neutrality following Thursday night’s fiasco, the poll panel clarified that the officials had taken a lift after their vehicle broke down in the rain, and were unaware of their host’s BJP link. It added that the voting machine was unharmed.

The commission did not specify how many voting machines were in the car but sources in Karimganj said there was just “one EVM set”, made up of a ballot unit, a control unit and a voter-verifiable paper audit trail device.

The commission’s special general observer Sudarshan Srinivasan later said in a report: “Action be taken against armed escort officer for leaving behind the stranded polling party and not ensuring their safe arrival at destination.”

The poll panel said that in addition to presiding officer Sahab Uddin Talukdar and three colleagues, their armed escort, sub-inspector (armed branch) Luhit Gohain, too had been suspended.

“While the sector officer was arranging for an alternate vehicle, the polling party decided to arrange a vehicle of its own so as to reach the Material Receipt Centre faster since they were in custody of polled EVMs,” the commission said in a statement.

“As reported by the polling party, they moved towards Karimganj and as they reached Kanaishil in Karimganj at about 2200 hrs, they had to slow down in the traffic. As they slowed down, they were surrounded by a mob of about 50 people which started pelting stones at them.”

It added: “The mob also started abusing them and did not allow the vehicle to pass. When they (polling officials) asked the leader of the mob, he replied that it was the vehicle of Sri Krishnendu Paul who is a contesting candidate of a neighbouring constituency (Patharkandi LAC-2) and he (mob leader) levelled allegations that the EVM was being taken to be tampered with.”

Reports suggested a police constable and a home guard were in the car with the polling officials. It wasn’t clear who or how many people were travelling in the car — apparently an SUV — when the polling officials “hailed” it.

“Immediately after receiving information about the incident, DEO (district election officer) Karimganj along with SP Karimganj rushed to the spot and reached there at 2220 hrs. Also in the meanwhile, the antecedents of the vehicle were ascertained and it was found to be registered in the name of Smti Madhumita Paul, wife of contesting candidate, Patharkandi LAC No 2, Shri Krishnendu Paul,” the commission statement said.

“On arrival at the spot, it was observed that the crowd was pulling out the polling party and were about to assault them. The mob had turned violent and had damaged the glass of the vehicle by stone pelting. During the course of the stone pelting, SP Karimganj sustained minor injuries on his collarbone and blank firing had to be resorted to disperse the mob.”

Three of the four officials were rescued and the voting machine moved to the Karimganj strong room by 11.20pm. On Friday morning, the police found the fourth official hiding in the undergrowth nearby.

“Although the seals of the EVM were found intact, it has nevertheless been decided to do a re-poll at No. 149 Indira M.V. School of LAC 1 Ratabari (SC) as added precaution,” the commission said.

The date for the re-polling has not been announced. Thursday witnessed the second phase of polling in Assam, with the last phase scheduled on April 6.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi tweeted: “EC car is bad, BJP’s intentions are bad, the condition of democracy is bad!”

His ally Badruddin Ajmal, MP from the All India United Democratic Front, tweeted: “Polarisation? Failed. Buying votes? Failed. Buying candidates? Failed. Jumle-baazi? Failed. Double CMs? Failed. Doublespeak on CAA? Failed. Loser BJP’s last resort: steal the EVMs. Murder of democracy.”

Special general observer Srinivasan’s report said: “There does not seem to be any grounds for change of RO (returning officer) as this appears to be an isolated incident, due to the total negligence and foolishness of the presiding officer and his team.

“There is otherwise no deliberate or malafide intention in the incident aimed to disrupt the polling process. To ensure credibility and fairness, it is appropriate to order repoll....”

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted: “Every time there is an election, videos of private vehicles caught transporting EVM’s show up. Unsurprisingly they have the following things in common: 1. The vehicles usually belong to BJP candidates or their associates. 2. The videos are taken as one-off incidents and dismissed as aberrations. 3. The BJP uses its media machinery to accuse those who exposed the videos as sore losers.”

She added: “The fact is that too many such incidents are being reported and nothing is being done about them. The EC needs to start acting decisively on these complaints and a serious re-evaluation of the use of EVM’s needs to be carried out by all national parties.”

Three constituencies in Karimganj district were caught in the sweep of events: the EVM was from Ratabari; the mob attack took place at Kanaishil in North Karimganj constituency, 2km from the strong room at Karimganj College; and the vehicle was from Patharkandi.

Ratabari and Patharkandi are adjoining constituencies, both held by the BJP. North Karimganj is with the Congress. Ratabari is about 40km and Patharkandi 32km from Karimganj town.

The commission described the controversy as an “unfortunate incident” and said the officials had been suspended for “violating transport protocol”.

It said the officials were returning in an armed convoy to Karimganj after polling ended at 6pm. Bad weather had caused an “unprecedented” traffic congestion on NH8 involving an estimated 1,300 vehicles.

As the polling party approached Nilam Bazaar, their vehicle broke down at about 9pm.

“Due to the traffic congestion and the prevailing weather condition, the party became detached from its convoy. The party alighted from the vehicle and called the sector officer Sri Ajoy Sutradhar on his mobile and informed him,” the commission said.

Around 9.20pm, the polling party “hailed” a passing car and boarded it with their EVM and other materials without checking the ownership of the car, AS-10B-0022.

Several democracy activists had earlier questioned the security of the voting machines, particularly after the introduction of the paper trail devices that are re-programmable and connect the ballot unit to the control unit.

Trinamul and the CPM have demanded a 100 per cent tally of the count between the paper trail and the corresponding voting machine.

Following a Supreme Court order in 2019, five paper trail devices are tallied with the corresponding electronic voting machines in each Assembly constituency.

If there’s a mismatch, only the paper trail count is considered and that particular voting machine’s count is disregarded. The election is not countermanded.

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury tweeted: “Question marks over Election Commission’s neutrality continue to mount. EC has failed to reassure the people that EVMs cannot be tampered with to negate democratic verdict. EC must take strict penal action & disqualify the BJP candidate.”