6 More Arrested For Poll Violence In Odisha’s Puri During Phase I Of Panchayat Polls

Puri: Six more persons were arrested on Friday on charges of booth capturing and attacking voters inside a booth at Tichhini village under Alanda panchayat in Odisha’s Puri district during the first phase of Panchayat elections in the state on Wednesday.

The six arrested have been identified as Surendra Barik (34), Ananta Barik (35), Kedar Tarei (45), Surendra Nath Jena (46), Meghanath Sahu (25) and Bhagaban Sahu (58). They were apprehended following raids at different places by Krushnaprasad police.

Odisha police had earlier informed about having arrested 16 persons in Puri district, 14 in Jajpur and six in Dhenkanal district in connection with poll disruption incidents during the first phase.

According to the SEC, polling was disrupted in Sujanpur, Erabanka, Rudrapur, Chhatisdebil, Jahalpda, Arabala panchayats under Jajpur block and Deoda panchayat under Dharamsala block in Jajpur district, Chhapmanik (Brahmagiri), Alanda (Krushnaprsad) and Badala (Kansa) in Puri district, Nihalprasad panchayat under Gondia block of Dhenkanal district besides Kanduapada panchayat under Bonth block and Chandigaon panchayat under Bhadrak sadar block in Bhadrak district.

So far, 387177 litres of liquor, 38 illegal arms and 2216.56 gms of narcotic drugs have been seized during the election process. While 4966 excise cases have been registered,  police have executed 1903 pending warrants, an Odisha Police release said.

Meanwhile, security has been heightened for the second phase of polling, which began at 7 am on Friday, with 240 platoons force and 1753 mobile patrolling parties along with district police officers being deployed all over the state. Over 62 lakh voters are exercising their franchise at 20435 booths in the second phase.