Election Commission Refutes RJD's Allegations of Tampering at Bihar Strong Room: Complete Investigation Details

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the CCTV surveillance at the control room "continued to run constantly." (Representational)

In Patna, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) filed a formal complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday regarding alleged suspicious activities at a strong room located in Hajipur, Vaishali district.

The party shared several CCTV footage clips on its official X platform, alleging that security cameras monitoring different Assembly constituencies were being systematically deactivated one after another. They also claimed that a pickup vehicle was observed entering and subsequently departing from the premises during late night hours.

In a strongly-worded statement on X, the RJD alleged that the "country's biggest vote thief" has been stationed in Bihar for several days under the guise of election campaigning. The party further accused media outlets of assisting in diverting public attention from what they described as vote rigging attempts.

"Bihar will teach these two outsiders a lesson this time. They are attempting to undermine democracy in Bihar, the birthplace of the republic - Biharis will under no circumstances allow this to happen," declared the RJD through its social media platform.

The ECI promptly responded to these allegations, stating that a preliminary investigation had been initiated immediately.

In its official response, the Commission explained that CCTV feeds from the strong room were being displayed at two separate locations - the primary control center and a designated viewing area specifically arranged for representatives of political parties.

The ECI clarified that the CCTV monitoring system at the main control room "continued to run constantly" without interruption.

However, the Commission acknowledged that the display screen in the viewing area for one of the five Assembly segments - specifically 129 Mahanar - had temporarily shut down due to an automatic timeout feature, but was promptly reactivated. The Commission emphasized that all other display screens remained operational without disruption, and importantly, the main control room feed for Mahanar constituency was completely unaffected.

Addressing concerns about the pickup vehicle, the ECI explained that it belonged to security personnel assigned to the strong room. These personnel had transported bedding materials and essential supplies to the college campus during late hours.

"The vehicle departed within 15 minutes and its entry was properly documented in the security guard register," the Commission stated.

The ECI further emphasized that the strong room operates under a comprehensive three-tier security system. The Commission also cited Kundan Kumar - the RJD representative from Lalganj who had circulated the video footage - as having confirmed the factual circumstances during the verification process.

"The baseless and misleading allegations are being categorically refuted," concluded the Election Commission.