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Fourth phase of panchayat polls peaceful

Special Correspondent

Jana Jagran Manch gives the call demanding shifting of block office

BHUBANESWAR: The fourth phase of the Orissa panchayat polls passed off peacefully on Monday with stray incidents of violence reported from different districts. Nearly 70 per cent of the voters cast their votes.

The Election Commission said that re-polling would be ordered in at least 19 booths as polling was not conducted in those booths for various reasons. The number of such booths was likely to increase as detailed reports were awaited.

Campaigning for the fifth and last phase of the polls came to an end on Monday evening.

In the the fifth phase on Wednesday polling will be held in the remaining 86 Zilla Parishad zones.

Polls boycotted

BERHAMPUR: Voters of five panchyats under the Chakapada block in Kandhamal district boycotted polls on Monday.

An organisation of the area, Jana Jagran Manch, has given the poll boycott call demanding shifting of block office from Bastingia to Chakapada.

There was almost no polling at 78 booths of these five panchayats -- Brahmanapada, Kakharujhola, Linepada, Gochapada and Sankarkhol. During the last minute of polling, 17 voters exercised their franchise at a polling booth under Kakharujhola.

Tense situation

According to Kandhamal Superintendent of Police Satish Kumar Gajbhiye, Gochapada Linepada and Sankarkhol areas were tense on Sunday night as supporters of poll boycott had started pressing people not to vote.

To avoid any law and order situation, 15 platoons of police force along with six striking troops had been deployed in these five panchayats.

Very few persons had filed nomination papers from these panchayats despite special extension of nomination dates.

Manch pressure

At the pressure of the Jan Jagran Manch, most of these candidates had withdrawn their nomination.

State election commission has already declared that panchayat bodies would be formed in these five panchayats through government nominees if no election could be held.

Labourers held

Migrant labourers, back from Surat and Mumbai to take part in the panchayat polls, were among those arrested on the charge of taking away ballot papers in Ganjam district.

On Sunday eight persons were arrested in Ganjam district for their involvement in snatching away of ballot papers during polling process.

Five of them were migrant labourers back from Surat and Mumbai.

These five persons were charged with destruction of ballot papers at a booth at Kharida panchayat under Hinjli block on February 13.

During their interrogation at the Hinjli police station, all of them reportedly said that they had come back to their village just before the elections at the call of a particular political party to be used during the election process. Re-polling would be held at the Kharida panchyat booth on Tuesday.

In another case, the Patapur police arrested three persons for their involvement in the snatching of ballot box from the booth number 25 of B. Adikandapur village under Sanakhemundi block.

Repolling

On February 15, these persons had taken away the ballot box. On the next day, ballot papers of the ballot box were found thrown behind a bush.

Re-polling would be held at this booth on Tuesday.

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