The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Petrol bombs recovered, 14 held at Mount

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 16, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Petrol bombs recovered, 14 held at Mount

Staff Reporter

Polling generally peaceful in southern suburbs of the city

TROUBLE-MAKERS BOOKED: Youths, who were detained on charges of carrying petrol bombs for creating trouble during the local body polls on Sunday, lined up at the Pallikaranai police station. — Photo: A. Muralitharan.

TAMBARAM : A clash at Sembakkam, the detention of an independent candidate contesting for the post of president of Medavakkam village panchayat on charges of snatching ballot papers and attempts at booth capturing marked the otherwise peaceful elections to local bodies in the southern suburbs of Chennai.

No major incident was reported from any area of Tambaram taluk, where polling was held amidst tight security with the police on high alert throughout.

Police resorted to intensive vehicle checks on the arterial roads, particularly cars and jeeps with private registration.

During one such check at St. Thomas Mount, police recovered petrol bombs and arrested 14 youths belonging to Vyasarpadi area, who were reportedly employed by a political party to disrupt poll proceedings.

Police also arrested half-a-dozen youths involved in fisticuffs in K.V.I.C. Nagar at Sembakkam near Tambaram.

Group clash

A group clashed outside the polling station at Adventist School in Gowrivakkam with some of them sustaining injuries.

Even as police pursued the miscreants, they fled from the spot.

At Medavakkam, K. Kalidas, independent candidate for the post of president of the village panchayat there, was detained at the Pallikaranai police station on charges of attempting booth capturing.

Police said a group of men forced its way into the Government Model School and entered booth Nos. 234, 235 and 222 and snatched ballot sheets after overpowering a woman sub-inspector and four head constables who were on duty before fleeing the spot.

Supporters of Kalidas, elected as ward member of the same panchayat last time, gathered outside the police station, charging policemen with foisting cases against him.

They said Kalidas' supporters had only gone to the voting centre to prevent other candidates with political backing from taking away the ballot sheets.

Booth capturing

Police said they prevented a booth-capturing attempt at Hindu School in Alandur.

An inspector on duty at the voting centre issued calls for reinforcement on the wireless.

Police chased away the gang trying to capture the booth with the help of the reinforcements.

The elections to the Alandur Municipality and Ullagaram-Puzhithivakkam Municipality passed off peacefully without any major incidents.

Despite tight security in all the polling booths of the Ullagaram-Puzhithivakkam Municipality, people failed to show up in large numbers following the incidents of violence during the first phase of polling on October 13.

Except for low voter turnout in a few wards, Alandur Municipality saw brisk polling.

According to the Returning Officer, out of a total voting population of 1,22,110 votes the total votes polled were 69,908 votes, which works out to 57 per cent.

The security arrangements at all the 114 booths of Alandur Municipality were tight with the police installing barricades at street junctions to prevent any trouble.

The Alandur Municipality has a total of 42 wards and the Ullagaram-Puzhithivakkam Municipality 18 wards.

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