- News>
- States
LeT ultras fire on polling officials in Poonch district
Polling for the by-election to the Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha constituency began Thursday morning on a violent note as suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) ultras opened fire from automatic weapons on polling stations.
Polling for the by-election to the Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha constituency began Thursday morning on a violent note as suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) ultras opened fire from automatic weapons on polling stations.
A senior police officer said in Jammu that ultras descended from nearby mountains in the wee hours and opened fire on polling officials, who had just arrived at these polling stations along with polling boxes and ballot papers. "There was no immediate confirmation of any casualties, he said and added that possibility of casualties cannot be ruled out."
According to Chief Electoral Officer Pramod Jain, the polling which ends on Thursday evening, began on a dull note during the first two hours of polling. However, long queues of voters were seen in some booths signifying that polling might gather momentum as the day proceeds.
This by election is primarily a triangular contest between the ruling National Conference, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress. Since this election is being perceived as a forerunner of the coming assembly elections, all parties have chipped in their might to win it, resulting in a no-holds-barred contest.
The NC candidate Chaudhury Talib Hussain, Congress nominee Madan Lal Sharma and BJP candidate Dr Nirmal Kumar Singh are directly locked in a triangular battle of wits in this by-election which was necessitated following the demise of sitting BJP parliamentarian Vaid Vishnu Datt.
Bureau Report
A senior police officer said in Jammu that ultras descended from nearby mountains in the wee hours and opened fire on polling officials, who had just arrived at these polling stations along with polling boxes and ballot papers. "There was no immediate confirmation of any casualties, he said and added that possibility of casualties cannot be ruled out."
According to Chief Electoral Officer Pramod Jain, the polling which ends on Thursday evening, began on a dull note during the first two hours of polling. However, long queues of voters were seen in some booths signifying that polling might gather momentum as the day proceeds.
This by election is primarily a triangular contest between the ruling National Conference, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress. Since this election is being perceived as a forerunner of the coming assembly elections, all parties have chipped in their might to win it, resulting in a no-holds-barred contest.
The NC candidate Chaudhury Talib Hussain, Congress nominee Madan Lal Sharma and BJP candidate Dr Nirmal Kumar Singh are directly locked in a triangular battle of wits in this by-election which was necessitated following the demise of sitting BJP parliamentarian Vaid Vishnu Datt.
Bureau Report