Panchayat elections: 8 hurt in poll-related violence across Punjab

At least eight persons were injured in minor skirmishes during polling to elect gram panchayat members in Punjab on Tuesday.
In Moga and Faridkot districts, polling by and large remained peaceful apart from minor clashes and two firing incidents amid allegations of rigging by the ruling in Aam Aadmi Party.
Two persons were injured in a group clash at Mangewala village in Moga district. The clash started when the husband of a woman candidate opposed to the people of the other group entering the polling station.
Two more persons were injured in poll-related violence at Kotla Mehar Singh Wala village in Bagahpurana subdivision of Moga district after gunshots were fired outside a polling booth when the voting was about to conclude. One of the injured was referred to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, in a critical condition.
In another incident, two groups clashed in Masitan village in Dharamkot subdivison of Moga district and pelted stones at each other. A couple of gunshots were also fired in the air by unidentified persons. The situation escalated when the doors of the polling booth were closed after 4pm and one group started pelting stones and raising slogans against AAP Dharamkot MLA Devinderjeet Singh Laddi Dhos.
Moga SSP Ajay Gandhi said: “The situation is under control at both the places. Apart from sporadic incidents, the polling process was peaceful in the district.”
The Faridkot district recorded a 69% voter turnout. While 30 panchayats were elected unanimously, there was no nomination at two polling booths. No candidate had filed a nomination for panchayat elections at Behbal Kalan village of Faridkot district. Moga district recorded 57.2% voter turnout.
Ballot papers soiled at Ferozepur village
A group of unidentified persons soiled polled ballot papers at a Ferozepur village and voting in two other villages of Mansa and Ferozepur was cancelled. Polling could not start at Lakhmir Ke Utad village near Mamdot town in Ferozepur district as the villagers staged a dharna outside the election booth since Monday.
The agitated residents of the village located near the Indo-Pak border complained that the names of 441 villagers were missing from the electoral roll.
Ferozepur DC Deepshikha Sharma said senior officials rushed to pacify the villagers but to no avail.
“The state election commission was apprised of the issue after the polling was countermanded. I have also marked a departmental probe to examine the allegations that names of most of the villagers do not figure in the voter list,” she added.
At another village of Ferozepur Lohke Khurd, a group of people threw ink on the ballot papers just before the voting ended at 4pm.
“A report from the returning officer stated that the soiled ballots are not fit for counting and we have forwarded a report for repolling at Lohke Khurd,”she said.
Similarly, polling at Mansa Khurd village in Mansa district was stopped after the villagers highlighted printing errors in the ballot papers.
Mansa additional deputy commissioner Akash Bansal said a repoll will be held at Mansa Khurd on Wednesday.
Firing incident in Patiala
While the polling in Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib districts remained peaceful, two persons were injured in violence in Patiala.
Police said a firing incident was reported from Khudda village in Patiala district, leaving one person injured. Another person was injured in a scuffle. A police official said 20-25 unidentified people arrived at a polling booth, allegedly manhandled the polling staff and took away a ballot box. Subsequently, they left the ballot box behind in a nearby field, the official said.
Patiala recorded a voter turnout of 59% while Fatehgarh Sahib and Sangrur witnessed a polling percentage of 67.01% and Sangrur 67.53%.
Gunshots fired in Tarn Taran village
Two persons were injured in violence outside a polling booth at Sohal village in Tarn Taran district, police said. Manpreet Singh, whose father was contesting elections, was injured in the firing. Another person, Buta Singh, was injured after being attacked with a sharp-edged weapon.
Mandeep Singh was rushed to a hospital where his condition was stated to be out of danger.
Polling in other regions of the Majha region, including Amritsar, Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts, remained peaceful.
Polling remained peaceful in the Doaba region, comprising Jalandhar, Kapurthala, SBS Nagar and Hoshiarpur districts. The region recorded 58% polling, till 4pm, with Hoshiarpur topping the chart with at 62.05%.