UP Elections: Stray clashes mark sixth phase polling

LUCKNOW: Amid sporadic incidents of violence, polling for the sixth phase concluded on Tuesday in 13 districts across the state. Hathras, however, remained peaceful despite fears of violence in the light of Monday incident when cops deployed on election duty had gone on a rampage after one of them was slapped by a senior officer.

Though Election Commission admitted that stray instances of violence were reported, chief electoral officer Umesh Sinha denied reports of firing during clashes in Agra. He said 58 complaints were received of which 27 were related to malfunctioning of EVMs. In all the 27 cases, EVMs were replaced and the polling continued unhindered thereafter.

In the first incident of violence, an irate mob attacked the police and poll officials with stones and bricks at Sherkhan locality in Etmdapur area of Agra. The mob went berserk accusing the polling staff and police of forcing the electorate to poll in favour of a particular party. Allegations are when some voters refused to follow the alleged dictates, they were not allowed to cast their vote. Some unidentified miscreants allegedly opened fire in the air. The sector magistrate and his team had a tough time controlling the situation. The sector magistrate Rajiv Pathak and a local were injured in the clash.

The second incident was reported from Bhelolpur polling station in Noida where BSP and SP supporters resorted to brick-batting accusing each other of bogus voting. The situation took a turn for the worse when the two sides blocked the National Highway 24 demanding repoll at the particular station and action against the rival group.

In Greater Noida, violence broke out between BJP and BSP supporters in Jaitpur area of Dadri. In most of the cases, violence occurred due to confrontation between supporters of rival political parties.