BENGALURU: A gang of unidentified miscreants attacked election officials who were on their way to conduct elections for a Milk Producers’ Cooperative Society in Magadi, Ramanagara district, and took away the ballot papers on Wednesday. The miscreants also tried to run their car over a woman staffer who tried to stop them.
Police said the staffers, Umesh and Usha, were heading to Hullenahalli village of Magadi taluk to conduct elections for the Hullenahalli Milk Producers’ Cooperative Society when a gang of five people in a car waylaid their car near Kenchanahalli on Magadi-Kunigal Road. After asking for their identity cards and confirming they were the election staff, the gang snatched the bag that had ballot papers, rubber stamps, other election-related materials and a laptop.
The staff tried to resist them but the accused persons allegedly overpowered them and escaped in the car. Usha, who tried to stop the car, was almost run over but she managed to escape, police added. “Preliminary investigation has revealed that rivalry between workers of two political parties led to the incident. The election was suspended following the incident,” an officer said. Magadi police registered a case and are on the lookout for the accused.