Akola (Maharashtra): In a fit of rage, a voter smashed the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) while casting his vote in Akola Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra on Thursday.
The incident occurred around 1 pm at the polling station no. 29 in Balapur, where polling was underway for the second phase of elections in 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state, said an Election Commission (EC) official.
The person, identified as one - Shrikrishna Ghyare, was taken into custody. The motive behind his act was not immediately known, the police had said.
On the fate of the votes already cast, the EC official explained that Ghyare had only broken the Balloting Unit (BU) and the Control Unit (CU) or the VVPAT, which was stationed a feet away, was safe along with the election officials.
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"We have the complete record of the votes cast in that EVM. There is no problem on that count," the EC official explained.
The authorities, further, arranged for an alternative BU which was attached to the existing CU/VVPAT, after which the voting resumed.