The Hindu : Front Page : Violence mars polling; two killed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 29, 2006

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Violence mars polling; two killed

Special Correspondent

Police open fire at several places; 68 per cent votes cast in first phase of PR polls

MILESTONE?: A 98-year-old woman, Sattemma of Ghanpur village in Medak district, casting her vote with the help of her grandsons. Photo: Mohd. Arif

HYDERABAD: Two persons were hacked to death and the police opened fire in air at several places as violence and allegations of rigging marred the first phase of Panchayat Raj elections in eleven districts on Wednesday. The percentage of polling was estimated at 68.

However, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Director-General of Police Swaranjit Sen claimed that the polling was peaceful. Disputing the claim and alleging large-scale rigging, Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu demanded repolling in Kadapa, Anantapur and Kurnool districts.

The husband of a rebel Telugu Desam candidate was among two persons done to death near a booth towards the end of polling at Chanugondla village in Dhone mandal of Kurnool district. One more person who was chased into nearby hills with serious injuries has not been traced. Three others were admitted to hospital.

The police opened fire in air at ten places to quell violent mobs in Prakasam, Kurnool and Anantapur districts.

Congress and Telugu Desam workers clashed with bombs near Muddanur in Kadapa, forcing the gunman of a contesting candidate to fire in the air. Polling was stopped in the village for two hours.

Polling was also disrupted at many places following group clashes and other election violence like pouring ink or water in ballot boxes, snatching boxes and intimidating the staff. The police arrested a polling clerk who poured the ink near Karimnagar town.

There were complaints of polling agents of Telugu Desam being driven away from booths by their Congress rivals in a bid to rig polls in Anantapur, Kadapa and Kurnool. When the problem cropped up in a booth in her constituency in Anantapur, TDP MLA Paritala Sunitha forced her way to act as an agent. The district leadership of TDP also staged a dharna near the Collectorate later. In the State capital, senior TDP leaders and their supporters stormed the chambers of State Election Commissioner A.V.S. Reddy to protest against election malpractices of Congress in Anantapur, Kadapa and Kurnool.

Commission Secretary G.N. Rao said a re-poll was ordered in four booths of B. Pochampalli mandal in Nalgonda where printing errors in ballot papers for MPTC election were noticed.

The police confined TDP MLA Karanam Balaramakrishnamurthy to his house and deflated the tyres of the car of Congress MLA G. Ravi Kumar in Prakasam. Mild tension prevailed in Bantumilli of Krishna district following an altercation between Congress MLA B. Vedavyas and ex-MLA of TDP Kagitha Venkata Rao. The latter staged a dharna demanding a repoll.

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