E-Paper
Brickbats, brawls and a battle for ballot
RIGGING BY ruling party candidates led to the cane-charge, brick-batting, skirmishes, fisticuffs and road-blockade leaving over two dozen persons injured in different parts of the city during polling on Tuesday. Two of the injured are still undergoing treatment in a Talkatora hospital. Their condition is stated to be critical. ficantly, barring one place, the police force did not initiate any action against the rowdy ruling party supporters engaged in the rigging.
Mass-scale rigging and six incidents of booth violence reported. FIR lodged in all the cases.... Election Commission office attacked, one held
RIGGING BY ruling party candidates led to the cane-charge, brick-batting, skirmishes, fisticuffs and road-blockade leaving over two dozen persons injured in different parts of the city during polling on Tuesday.
Two of the injured are still undergoing treatment in a Talkatora hospital. Their condition is stated to be critical.
Significantly, barring one place, the police force did not initiate any action against the rowdy ruling party supporters engaged in the rigging. Senior SP leaders, including MP Banwari Lal Kanchhal, caused a maximum law and order trouble by visiting sensitive booths and provoking party activists to engage in the rigging.
The trouble first started from two polling centres—-Excellent Public School and Manav Jagriti School at Badalikhera locality in Sarojininagar area around 11.20 am. Polling agents of the BJP raised objections over SO Sarojininagar BB Tiwari and a sub-inspector (S-I) Rajiv Kumar Yadav helping Samajwadi Party (SP) agents in convincing voters in partyy’s favour.
The BJP supporters alleged they lost their temper when they saw S-I Yadav himself taking people inside the booth and asking them to vote for SP candidate Santosh Kumari Yadav. The BJP activists asked SO Tiwari to intervene into the matter but the latter reportedly refused for the same and instead chased the complainants away threatening with dire consequences.
The police reaction irked the BJP activists and they gathered on Kanpur Road around 12 in the noon. A mob of about 150 people including women and children blocked both sides of the National Highway leaving the traffic standstill.
The agitators engaged in heated exchange with senior officials including SP (East) and the ADM. The people were demanding cancellation of polling on two booths. BJP Mayoral candidate Dinesh Sharma too arrived at the place and visited the booths. The police force resorted to cane-charge on the agitators around 2.30 pm as the mob was reluctant to end the agitation. The mob retaliated the lathicharge with pelting stones at the police team. However, the cops chased the agitators away using the force.
Meanwhile, it was around 12.5 pm when supporters of SP candidate Manoj Yadav and independent candidate Salim engaged in violent brick-batting at SBN Inter College polling centre at Narpatkhera locality in Talkatora. Both the groups led by the candidates did not spare even mediapersons.
While SP activists smashed a Bolero jeep and chairs and table of Salim’s camp and injured latter’s brother Musahib, latter’s supporters assaulted a rival supporter Om Prakash Kashyap brutally. Both of Kashyap’s eyes were injured badly and he was admitted to a private hospital.
About half-a-dozen persons including women and children suffered injuries in the brick-batting.
The policemen deployed there, remained mute spectator to the violence. Senior police officials rushed to the scene but only to disperse the violent groups. They left the scene soon. Both SP candidate and Salim made allegations about rigging against each other.
Another violent incident took place at Nandini Inter College, Munshi Pulia in Ghazipur area around 3.30 pm. Here SP candidate Abhay Singh Yadav pelted stones at rival independent candidate Mukesh Chauhan’s group. Chauhan’s elder brother Munnu Singh suffered serious head injuries while others too were injured.
Chauhan too alleged Abhay and his supporters were engaged in the rigging and attacked when they (Chauhan and supporters) raised objections. Abhay was taken in police custody later.
Similarly, police resorted to cane charge to disperse the violent mob engaged in brick-batting at Child Care polling centre in Amberganj, Saadatganj in the noon.
On the other hand, reports of ballot papers getting torn off and brick-batting between supporters of SP candidate and BJP were also reported from two polling centres of Thakurganj.
Besides, SP candidate from Moti Nagar ward, Naka Raju Gandhi and his supporters allegedly engaged in rigging at Agrawal School and DAV College polling centres. Even SHO Naka police station Bhullan Yadav was seen supporting Gandhi and his supporters in the act.
Similar incidents of rigging and skirmishes between SP and rival candidates took place at ALY Mainpuria Inter College, Bhaptamau Talkatora, Pioneer Inter College and Jal Sansthan office, Rajajipuram, Technical High School, Vijay Nagar Krishnanagar, Aliganj, Phoolbagh and Khandari Bazar Kaiserbagh, Yahiaganj and Raqabganj.
A BJP candidate Kallu Lodhi in Bhaptamau Talkatora was taken into custody for using mobilephone inside the polling centre.
