New Delhi, April 12 -- A Central Observer's attempt to override Kerala's strongroom locking protocols sparked a tense standoff on Thursday in Kottayam, with CISF personnel allegedly pointing weapons at local election officials, said officials attached to the office of the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). The confrontation unfolded at Baselios College, the designated strongroom housing electronic voting machines (EVMs) for the Vaikom constituency, the CEO officials added. Ranjit Kumar Sinha, a 2005-batch IAS officer, was appointed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) as Central Observer for Kaduthuruthy, Vaikom (SC), and Ettumanoor seats. According to CEO officials, after polling ended on April 9, Sinha directed that keys to the locks of the strongroom be sealed and left attached to the locks, with only spare copies to be retained by officials. Sinha cited this as standard practice in states like West Bengal and Assam, officials said. "Under Kerala's established procedure, the strong room has two separate locks. The Returning Officer (RO) retains one key and the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) retains the other, ensuring that the room can only be opened when both are present," senior state CEO officials said, and added, "The observer's direction would have altered this system by leaving the keys at the door, instead of maintaining dual custody." The directive drew immediate objections from the Kottayam West Police on security grounds, and from the RO, CEO officials said. Ettumanoor UDF candidate and DCC president Nattakam Suresh and election agent G Gopakumar also filed a formal complaint with district collector Chetan Kumar Meena and CEO of Kerala, Rathan U Kelkar. "During the process of re-securing the strongroom according to established protocol, a tense situation arose between CISF personnel, state police, and state election officials because the CISF was acting on the observer's instructions. However, the matter was resolved after consultations between the observer and the District Collector," CEO officials said. The standoff ended with an agreement to follow the original Kerala procedure; keys were handed over to the RO and ARO. The doors were then secured with additional reinforcements. HT contacted Sinha for his comment but he did not respond....