BHUBANESWAR: Hooliganism and anarchy reached its peak as violence and arson swept through third phase polling for panchayat elections across the State. And no one was spared. Election officer,
policemen and journalists came under attack with cops watching as mute spectators while incidents of booth rigging and ballot box loot were reported from several districts.
In Jajpur, miscreants attacked block development officer (BDO) of Korei Anjan Kumar Parida near a polling booth at Soti village under Goleipur panchayat.
The BDO, who was the election officer of Korei, had gone to the booth after receiving information regarding irregularities in the polling process. Parida, who sustained injuries, lodged a complaint against the assailants with the police.
In Jajpur’s Binjharpur block, three video journalists of regional media houses were brutally attacked while filming booth rigging in Bacchala panchayat.
The injured scribes, Debashis Sahoo, Gulshan Ali Nawaz and Bijay Sahoo, had gone to booths 2 and 4 after being informed about loot of ballot boxes when over 40 armed miscreants attacked them. So emboldened were the political goons that they did not care about being filmed in the act.
When the news of the attack spread, local journalists informed the police which rushed to the spot and rescued the journalists. The injured trio was admitted to the district headquarters hospital.
Based on the complaints of the victims, Binjharpur police filed three separate cases and detained 25 persons from Bacchala. Jajpur SP Rahul PR said police are interrogating the detained persons and strict action will be taken against those found involved in the attack.
On the day, Jajpur Collector Chakravarti Singh Rathore recommended re-polling in 14 booths that witnessed violence during the third phase polls. Re-polling has been recommended in eight booths of Binjharpur and six in Barchana block.
In Kendrapara, two policemen were assaulted in Rajnagar block while arresting a person creating a disturbance in the booth. Sources said tension erupted at booth 3 in Gokhani village under Dera panchayat after a non-voter was made a polling agent. To take stock of the situation, police rushed to the booth. However, villagers attacked the cops when they tried to arrest the non-voter.
Tension flared up after Rajnagar MLA Dhruba Sahoo allegedly entered a booth and instructed the presiding officer to seal the ballot boxes with the poll symbols of BJD candidates. Senior Congress leader Ansuman Mohanty demanded action against the MLA for violating the poll code.
In Derabishi block, three persons were injured after a clash broke out between supporters of two sarpanch candidates in Nikirei panchayat.
In Nabarangpur’s Kodinga, a car and bike of Congress leader KS Jhadeshwar were torched by unidentified miscreants over a poll dispute on Saturday night. Jhadeshwar lodged a complaint with Kodinga police in this regard.