Gonda (UP) Apr 16 (PTI) A government school headmaster in Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh was suspended for violating the Model Code of Conduct by campaigning in favour of a Samajwadi Party candidate ahead of the Lok Sabha election, officials said on Tuesday.

District Magistrate of Gonda Neha Sharma said a case was registered against Arun Kumar Verma, posted in a school in the Bakhrauli village panchayat area, for attending programmes of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and campaigning for its candidate.

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Sharma, who is the district election officer, added that Divisional Education Officer Gitanjali Tiwari has been asked to investigate the matter for departmental action.

The move follows a complaint filed by the district president of the BJP.

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Sharma said the headmaster was suspended and attached to the Upper Primary School, Ghanshyampur, after being found prima facie guilty in the case.

She said the principal's action was found contrary to the provisions of the Employee Conduct Rules, the Model Code of Conduct and the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The official said the district administration was committed to conducting free, fair and transparent polls.

Voting in Gonda will be held in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election on May 20.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)