58 pc turnout in Phase III of assembly polls

The third phase of the Jharkhand assembly polls on Tuesday posted an average 58 per cent turnout, despite the killing of two paramilitary personnel and arrest of a former legislator of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, reports Madan Kumar.

The third phase of the Jharkhand assembly polls on Tuesday posted an average 58 per cent turnout, despite the killing of two paramilitary personnel and arrest of a former legislator of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.

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Except a Maoist attack on a BSF team and a other few skirmishes, the polling passed off peacefully in all the 11 constituencies that went to elections in the third of the five-phase polls.

Police arrested eight persons, including former JMM legislator Suphal Marandi, for indulging in poll violence. Maoists blew up two school buildings in Latehar district, about 95 km northwest of Ranchi. In another incident, a 20-member team of the Border Security Force was attacked by the armed Maoists around 2.15 pm in Sarasdangal forest in Dumka district, about 450 km northeast of Ranchi, Inspector General of Police, Dumka Zone, A. Natarajan said. He said the Maoists killed two BSF jawans Dharmaveer Singh and Dinesh Sharma.

In Ghatsila, Congress president Sonia Gandhi told a rally that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance wants development, “but not at the cost of displacement of tribals”.

She said the government had decided to form a National Rehabilitation Commission to ensure rehabilitation to people willing to part with their land for development.