The Jharkhand Polices Special Branch raised eyebrows after sending out a letter on April 3 to the Deputy Superintendents of Police across all 24 districts. The letter requested caste-wise number and percentage of the voters in light of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024. This action has stirred concerns as it may breach the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) set for elections.Request for caste dataThe letter, sent by the Special Branch, urged compliance with the provided instructions and emphasized the importance of producing the required data within two days in an MS Word file format. The directive was to send the information to the email address electioncell-sb@jhpolice.gov.in.Violation of MCCJharkhands Chief Electoral Officer, K Ravi Kumar, clarified that soliciting caste-wise voter data violates the MCC. He emphasized that strict action would be taken against any such breaches.The misuse of the data raised concerns among officials. The Election Commission had previously emphasized that no appeals should be made on the basis of caste or communal sentiments.Defense by special branchThe Special Branch defended its action, stating that gathering intelligence ahead of elections is a routine practice. They clarified that the collected data is crucial for understanding demographic changes and aiding policy-level decisions.The data collection process is part of preparing a confidential booklet on the upcoming polls. This booklet is only shared with select high-ranking officers and is not meant for public distribution.Unintended disclosureHowever, an unintended disclosure occurred when one of the officers sent a written request to a district administration for the data, causing confusion. The officer has since been issued a show-cause notice for the breach.In response, the officer clarified that the data request was not meant for the district administration. Steps are being taken to address the confusion and ensure adherence to election guidelines.
