Violence rocks Assam's Kokrajhar, Chirang as BTC polls end
A number of incidentsof violence were reported from Kokrajhar and Chirang districtsof Assam after the polling for the Bodoland TerritorialCouncil (BTC) ended on Thursday, officials said.
Police had to fire 25-30 rounds in the air to dispersea huge mob, which damaged a vehicle carrying ballot boxes fromthe Malbhog polling booth of the Kachugaon constituency inGossaigaon police station area in Kokrajhar, an official said.
When the vehicle, carrying election materials andpolling officials, broke down at Habrubil on NH-31C, a groupof people surrounded it and started stone-pelting.
After a police team reached the spot from Gossaigaon,the group swelled into a huge crowd, forcing the police tofire several rounds in the air to disperse them, the officialsaid.
The election materials and the officials were broughtto the strong room at Gossaigaon in a different vehicle.
Some miscreants also tried to attack the strong roomset up at the office of the Sub-Divisional Officer, but policefoiled the attempt and arrested a few people.
In another incident, a ballot box was damaged by agroup of people when it was being brought from Srirampur HighSchool polling booth to the Gossaigaon strong room.
An official said the Assam State Election Commissionmay consider re-polling in that particular booth.
At Tintila in Baukhungri constituency, supporters ofBodoland Peoples Front (BPF) and United Peoples PartyLiberal (UPPL) clashed after the polling ended, resulting inserious injury to one person.
The officer of polling station 57 at ChirangsPhulaguri was attacked after the completion of the voting. Hisvehicle was damaged in the incident, officials said.
Over 78 per cent voter turnout was recorded onThursday for 19 seats in BTCs second and final phase ofpolling, which also witnessed police firing in the air tocontrol a clash between BPF and UPPL supporters in the Chirangdistrict while voting was underway.
The voting for the BTC began on December 7 with over77.01 per cent of voters exercising their franchise in thefirst phase of polling for 21 seats in the Udalguri and Baksadistricts.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)
