E-Paper
Municipal polls in Dhanbad, Bokaro largely peaceful amid isolated clashes
Dhanbad and Bokaro municipal elections saw high voter turnout amid minor clashes; overall, the process was peaceful with strong security measures in place.
Municipal elections in Dhanbad and Bokaro on Monday witnessed enthusiastic voter participation, with authorities terming the overall process peaceful despite sporadic clashes at a few polling stations.
In Dhanbad, polling for the municipal corporation and Chirkunda nagar parishad recorded steady turnout throughout the day. According to district officials, 46.98 per cent voting was recorded in Dhanbad and 61.40 per cent in Chirkunda till 5 pm. Over 4.22 lakh voters cast their ballots in Dhanbad, while 22,704 voters exercised their franchise in Chirkunda by evening.
Though the voting process was largely smooth across 1,019 polling stations, minor confrontations were reported at select booths. In Ward 27, covering booths 106, 110, 111 and 112, supporters of rival councillor candidates engaged in heated arguments that briefly escalated into pushing and shoving. Both sides levelled allegations of voter influence and misconduct. Police personnel reached the spot promptly, dispersed the crowd and ensured that polling resumed without further disruption.
Similar tension surfaced at booths 58, 59, 13 and 14 in Susnilewa Nag Nagar, where supporters of two candidates clashed over alleged interference by a representative near the polling station. Locals intervened before security forces restored order. Additional police deployment was made as a precaution, and voting continued peacefully thereafter.
Deputy commissioner and district election officer (municipal) Aditya Ranjan said the election was conducted peacefully overall, with isolated incidents resolved at the sector magistrate level. SSP Prabhat Kumar confirmed that no major untoward incident was reported from any polling station.
Counting of votes will be held on February 27 at Government Polytechnic, where strongrooms will be guarded under a three-layer security arrangement. The innermost layer will be manned by Jharkhand Armed Police, with district police deployed in the outer layers.
In Bokaro, an incident at a polling booth at Van Vishramgarh in Chas led to the injury of SDPO Praveen Kumar Singh during a dispute. The clash reportedly occurred when police attempted to remove unauthorised persons from near the booth in Ward 32
Bokaro SP Harvinder Singh said, “This is beyond tolerance. The candidate’s husband has been taken into custody. After voting concludes, CCTV footage will be examined and strict legal action will be taken against whoever is found guilty.” He added that an FIR would be registered and due legal action initiated.
Despite the isolated episode, polling in Bokaro continued under heightened security, with officials asserting that the overall electoral process remained under control.
