UP panchayat polls begin with violence; 4 dead

Lucknow, Oct 12: The Uttar Pradesh Panchayat elections started off on a violent note as four people were killed and over 36 were injured in the first phase of polls on Monday, Oct 11.

Clashes between rival supporters, who used firearms and indulged in brick-batting, were reported from Mordabad district, Kannauj and Shahjahanpur districts. In some districts, polls were cancelled over reports of booth capturing and snatching of ballot boxes.

While a 28-year-old man was shot dead near a polling booth in Gadia village in Kannauj district, some people fired at supporters of a rival candidate killing two in Ahrolla Mafi village near Moradabad.

According to the police, those killed near Moradabad were relatives of the candidate.

A police jeep was set on fire in Akbarpur area in Ramabai Nagar. In Nayapur village in Agra, a former village head and three others were arrested after they opened fire and set afire a polling booth.

Polling in Farukkhabad, Allahabad, Auraiya, Sitapur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur among other places saw booth capturing and other incidents.

80 per cent polling was recorded in the violence-marred first phase polling of the 3-tier elections.

State Election Commission confirmed that polling was cancelled at some places on complaints. Fresh dates will be announced later.

OneIndia News