Etawah: Violence erupted in Etawah in Uttar Pradesh during the first phase of the panchayat elections. Locals clashed with police at Bharthana after an inspector allegedly tore papers related to the election. Seven people were arrested for influencing the voters at the polling booth.
Meanwhile, in restive Gorakhpur district the voting was peaceful with a huge turnout of women and elderly people.
On Sunday, four persons were killed and over 36 injured as violence marred the first phase of 3-tier Panchayat elections across Uttar Pradesh which registered an 80 per cent turnout.
Two persons were killed in Moradabad district and one each in Kannauj and Shahjahanpur during clashes between rival supporters who used firearms and indulged in brick-batting.
A police jeep and a polling station were torched as reports of booth capturing and snatching of ballot boxes were reported in some districts leading to cancellation of polling.
Tipu, aged 28, was shot dead near a polling booth in Gadia village in Kannauj district, Additional Director General of Police Brij Lal told reporters here.
Some persons fired at supporters of a rival candidate killing two and seriously wounding another in Ahrolla Mafi village, some 15-km from Moradabad.
The incident happened five minutes before the voting ended and the dead were relatives of the candidate, District Magistrate S C Sharma said.
An 85-year-old man died near a booth in Shahjhanpur district as reports of booth capturing and snatching of ballot boxes poured in from some districts leading to cancellation of polling.
In Akbarpur area in Ramabai Nagar, a police jeep was set ablaze while a former village head and three others were arrested after they opened fire and set afire a polling booth in Nayapur village in Agra.
At least 14 people, one of them a candidate for the post of Gram Pradhan, were injured in clashes in Kayamganj Development Block in Farrukhabad.
The candidate for the post of Gram Pradhan was stabbed in Raehgaon village and was admitted to a hospital where his condition was stated to be critical.
Five people were injured in Firozabad as rival groups traded fire and hurled bricks at each other, the ADGP said. In Chattrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar, four members of a family were injured in a group clash, he said.
In Auraiya district, some persons snatched ballot boxes in Bainsol village and vandalised a polling station sparking a clash between locals and police who used force to bring the situation under control.
The State Election Commission said nearly 80 per cent polling was recorded in the first phase. It said reports of booth capturing and other similar incidents were received from Farukkhabad, Allahabad, Auraiya, Sitapur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and other places.
"Polling has been cancelled at some places from where complaints were received and fresh dates will be announced later," it said.
In the first phase, voting was held in 223 development blocks to elect 13,414 village panchayats, 17252 chhetra panchayats and 1,65,741 panchayat members.
With PTI inputs
Comments
0 comment