Maoists fire at polling station in Maharashtra district

Gadchiroli (Maharashtra), Oct 15 (ANI): Maoists attempted to disrupt the polling process in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli District on Thursday morning by firing at a polling booth.

The Naxals reportedly opened fire on the polling booth in Kotmi village of Alapali taluka at around 10:30 a.m.

Naxals fled from the spot after the attack. No casualties were reported in the incident.

The voting in 22 polling booths in the district did not take place on Tuesday, as polling staffs were unable to reach their respective destinations on time due to obstacles put up by Naxals on the way.

According to officials, polling is taking place at seven booths in Armouri constituency, two in Gadchiroli and 13 booths in Aheri constituency in the district.

The Election Commission has deployed central police force (CPMF) contingents in Naxal-hit Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts of Vidarbha region of the state to thwart any attempt by the Maoists to disrupt the election process.

According to Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police S. Jayakumar, "At around 6.30 am, before the start of polling, a few rounds of gunfire were heard in Kasanpur village of Aheri assembly constituency."

"The shots came from far and there were no casualties of any kind in the incident," he added.

"I would like to assure that the situation is fully under control and there is no cause for worry," Jayakumar said.

Security was further tightened and all security agencies have been ordered to be extra vigilant following the incident. (ANI)