Digital Goa, Jan 12 – Election Commission of India on Monday clarified that the verification notice issued to former Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) and his 78-year-old wife during Goa’s SIR drive was a routine, system-generated notice due to missing mandatory details in his form.The ECI said the absence of information such as EPIC number and previous electoral roll details led to his categorisation as an “unmapped voter,” automatically triggering a hearing notice. Responding to the notice, on his X handle, Admiral Prakash, an 82-year-old Vir Chakra awardee and long-time Goa resident said he would comply with the process but flagged systemic concerns. He pointed out shortcomings in form design, lapses during Booth Level Officer (BLO) visits, and the inconvenience caused to elderly citizens required to travel long distances for hearings. Incidentally, SIR drive in Goa has flagged around 1.82 lakh voters as unmapped and identified over one lakh names for deletion.
