A case has been registered by the police against approximately 40 persons who are accused of vandalizing three polling booths at Ghatnandur in Maharashtra's Beed district. The incident occurred during the assembly elections a day ago, with the suspects also allegedly damaging several Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), according to officials.
Several police personnel sustained injuries during an attack by the accused, who were armed with wooden sticks and sharp-edged weapons, officials said. The case has been registered at Ambajogai Rural police station, located about 220 km from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, in connection with the incidents that took place at Ghatnandur in the Parli assembly constituency, the official added.
"A video of Madhav Jadhav, a local leader of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), being beaten up at Kanherwadi village in the constituency had earlier gone viral. Following that, 50 to 60 persons came with wooden sticks and weapons, and vandalised the polling booths set up in Someshwar School, a Zilla Parishad (ZP) school and another ZP school for girls around 1.30 pm on Wednesday," the official said.
The accused also attacked police personnel stationed at the booths, resulting in injuries to some officers, officials said. Several EVMs at the affected polling stations were damaged, but the administration swiftly replaced the machines to ensure uninterrupted voting. The votes cast on the replacement machines are secure and will be counted on the day of the results, the collector confirmed on Wednesday.