Odisha Panchayat Polls: Ballot box looted in Puri, polling disrupted

Unidentified miscreants allegedly looted a ballot box from a booth at Kashijharia village of Chapamanik panchayat under Brahmagiri block in Odisha’s Puri district during the first phase of panchayat polls in the state on Wednesday.

Puri (Odisha):Unidentified miscreants allegedly looted a ballot box from a booth at Kashijharia village of Chapamanik panchayat under Brahmagiri block in Odisha’s Puri district during the first phase of panchayat polls in the state on Wednesday. The incident took place at around 10.30 am at booth number 9 in the village when a youth went inside the polling booth on the pretext of casting his vote.

He snatched away the ballot box, ran away from the spot, and threw it outside the boundary wall. His associates who were waiting at the spot took the ballot box and ran towards the nearby forest. The intention behind the act by them is yet to be ascertained. Soon, Brahmagiri police reached the place and started an investigation into the incident.

Efforts are being made to identify the miscreants and trace the ballot box. A similar incident was also reported at booth 1 in Sujanpur panchayat of Jajpur district where the polling process was disrupted after two groups clashed over the alleged loot of the ballot box.