Jharkhand panchayat polls: Maoists fire at voters
December 13th, 2010 - 2:13 pm ICT by IANSRanchi, Dec 13 (IANS) The third phase of Jharkhand’s maiden panchayat polls Monday witnessed some violence, with Maoists firing at voters in one incident, police said.Voting began at 7 a.m. in the morning amid tight security. Polling is being held at 990 panchayats spread over 61 blocks in 20 districts. More than 32 lakh voters will decide the fate of 40,471 candidates in fray.
Maoist guerrillas fired a few rounds at voters lined up outside a polling booth near Parangir village of West Singhbhum district, a police officer said. Security forces retaliated, forcing the Maoists to flee. No one was injured, he added.
In the second incident, a candidate was arrested in Giridih district after police recovered a bomb from his bag.
Gokul Prasad was carrying two bombs with him, one of which exploded when his bike collided with another two-wheeler near Rajdhanwar block of Giridih district, some 190 km from Ranchi, police said.
The five-phase panchayat elections began Nov 27.
The last panchayat polls were held in 1979 when the areas that make up Jharkhand were part of Bihar. Even though the state was carved from Bihar Nov 15, 2000, panchayat polls were delayed due to a legal battle over reservations for tribals.
- Over 67 percent votes cast in Jharkhand panchayat polls - Dec 13, 2010
- 66 percent polling in Jharkhand (Lead) - Dec 20, 2010
- 67 percent polling, CRPF trooper killed in Jharkhand (Lead) - Dec 24, 2010
- Third phase of Jharkhand panchayat polls Monday - Dec 12, 2010
- Jharkhand panchayat polls: 60 percent ballot in second phase (Lead) - Dec 06, 2010
- Second phase of Jharkhand panchayat polls begins - Dec 06, 2010
- Jharkhand panchayat polls: 67 percent ballot in second phase (Second Lead) - Dec 06, 2010
- Maoists disrupt panchayat polls in Jharkhand - Dec 24, 2010
- Panchayat polls on in Jharkhand - Dec 20, 2010
- Maoist held while campaigning for wife in Jharkhand - Dec 08, 2010
- Munda urges Maoists to cooperate in panchayat polls - Nov 26, 2010
- Jharkhand panchayat polls begin Saturday - Nov 26, 2010
- Jharkhand panchayat polls: 3,000 backed by Maoists win unopposed - Dec 04, 2010
- Landmine recovered in Jharkhand - Dec 23, 2010
- Jharkhand panchayat polls: 50 percent voting in first phase (Second Lead) - Nov 27, 2010
Tags: bihar, bomb, bombs, fate, few rounds, maoist, maoist guerrillas, maoists, panchayat elections, police officer, polling booth, polls, security forces, tight security, two wheeler, violence