Enquiry ordered against returning officer Yogesh

Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh on Monday ordered an enquiry against returning officer S B Yogesh for reportedly travelling out of the district headquarters without prior permission.

In ensuing elections to Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) council, Yogesh, who is the district Social Welfare Department deputy director, was appointed returning officer for Wards 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15.

Rupesh conceded to having received complaints that the returning officer had been frequently travelling to his native place, Tarikere, abandoning the district headquarters, during the period of submission of nominations. The returning officer was instructed not to leave the district headquarters until the election procedures were completed, Rupesh told reporters at her office.

Yogish was also accused of removing the number plate on the front side of his official car, so that nobody would catch him red-handed while exiting the district headquarters.

The vehicle with the number KA 19 G 721 is registered in the name of the district social welfare officer. The picture of the vehicle without the number plate on the front side was doing rounds on social media.

Yogesh, however, denied that he had been away from the district headquarters. “Some people have complained against me with a wrong motive,” he added.

The officer said that when the additional deputy commissioner called him over phone seeking his whereabouts, he had been present in Urwa in Mangaluru. “The number plate in the front of the official car was removed as it was broken in an accident. A new number plate had been fixed to the vehicle,” he clarified.