Maharashtra Assembly polls: 40 booked for vandalising booths, EVMs in Beed

Police have registered a case against around 40 persons after they allegedly vandalised three polling booths at Ghatnandur in Maharashtra's Beed district and damaged some EVMs when voting for the assembly polls was underway a day ago, officials said.

Some police personnel were injured in the attack by the accused, who carried wooden sticks and sharp-edged weapons with them, they said.

The case was registered at Ambajogai Rural police station, around 220 km from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, for the incidents that occurred at Ghatnandur in Parli assembly constituency, an official said. Polling for the 288-member state legislative assembly was held on Wednesday.  "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.

They also attacked some police personnel guarding the booths, in which they suffered injuries, he said. Some EVMs at these polling stations were vandalised and the administration quickly got these machines replaced so that voting continues unhindered. Since the votes cast on the replaced machines were safe, they will be counted on the day of results, the collector said on Wednesday. Based on a complaint, a case was registered against the accused on the charges of attempt to murder, voluntarily causing hurt, use of criminal force against a public servant under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and other sections of the Representation of the People Act, the official added.