One dead, two injured at Akuluto
Morung Express News
Dimapur | February 27
Sounds of gunfire, street battles and malfunctioning EVMs marred the elections to the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly 2018 on February 27.
Clashes between rival supporters were reported from as many as four districts claiming one life and leaving an unspecified number of people injured.
The first instance of violence was reported from Mon following relatively calm electioneering in the district. An explosive, suspected to be an IED, went off at a polling station in 41 Tizit AC early in the morning injuring one person.
According to Election officials, it occurred around 5:45 am. The explosive, suspected to be made of gelatine, was lobbed on the CGI roof of polling station number 20 by unidentified persons. One person, said to be a voter, sustained splinter injury. Polling went ahead at the said station despite the incident, the officials informed.
In another village of the same constituency, a mob resorted to stone-pelting due to an alleged delay in the polling schedule. The delay was attributed to a defective EVM and was reportedly made worse after the mob gate-crashed the polling station located at Lapa village further causing damage to the EVM. Additional security was requisitioned to contain the situation and the EVM replaced following which polling began.
A similar incident was reported from 46 Mon A/C. As per reports, some youth interrupted polling process at polling station 5. It resulted in polling to be extended till around 6:30pm.
In another part of the state, violence erupted at 31 Akuluto AC in Zunheboto, leaving one dead and two wounded. An official government report, quoting the Akuluto police, said that trouble ensued at a polling station in the town as supporters of rival candidates took the poll contest to the streets.
“According to Akuluto Police Report, around 11: 20 am, the rival parties clashed one another at a polling station of 31A/C Akuluto town South Wing,” the report stated. Security personnel resorted to firing in the air as “the situation went out of control.”
One person was killed and two others injured in the melee, whose identities could not be ascertained. All three casualties were suspected to have been caused by gunshots, one fatally. The report said that the two injured persons were shot on the leg and were taken to a hospital in Mokokchung.
“Several vehicles belonging to both parties (unspecified) were also damaged during the poll related violence.” Polling resumed after the situation was contained to close at the scheduled time, the report added.
Further west, in Wokha, there were allegations of police highhandedness. At a village in 38 Wokha AC, police personnel were accused of assaulting voters, who were waiting their turn to vote. It reportedly halted polling but resumed after the district administration intervened. This alleged incident was not included in the official summary of the day’s incidents issued by the CEO Nagaland.
In Wokha town, some youths were allegedly pelted with stones by police personnel near a polling station. The police retaliation was reportedly in response to another stone-pelting incident. An eyewitness account described the incident as culminating with the police rounding up the youth and caning them.
Polling in Phek was described as “quite tense” by the CEO Nagaland but remained under control. Mob violence was reported at one polling station at 20 Meluri A/C during which, the CEO said, the EVM was damaged “and no poll was held after that.”
In disputed Ladaigarh (Longleng), polling was “adjourned after the Assam Police obstructed some political party people.” No further details were provided of the incident.
EVMs and VVPAT malfunctioning were reported from several other polling stations at 41 Tizit A/C, 42 Wakching A/C, 43 Tapi A/C and in 46 Mon A/C. Election officials in Mon reported of delayed polling schedule due to EVM errors, in some by an hour, in as many as 14 polling stations in the said constituencies.
While EVMs malfunctioned, one got snatched too. According to the CEO, it occurred at a polling station in 41 Tizit A/C. The CEO said that a mob snatched an EVM and a VVPAT from the polling station after polling came to a close. “(The) EVM was retrieved but not the VVPAT,” the CEO said while not disclosing the polling station number.
Information about the day’s events in Mokokchung was hard to come by with no official inputs from any quarter, including, the CEO.
An elderly man reportedly collapsed while in queue at a polling station in Mokokchung Town A/C after suffering a stroke. He was later pronounced brought dead by the doctors at the district hospital.
Reports that circulated during the day indicated of polling progressing unhindered, while there were reports of sporadic skirmishes in some sensitive areas. Alichen in 28 Koridang A/C was reported to have been tense, while skirmishes occurred in pockets of 26 Aonglenden. The other constituencies in the district reported largely peaceful conduct of polls.
Earlier, in the morning, reports of EVMs going awry were reported from as many as three polling stations in 29 Jangpetkong A/C.
These reports however could not be officially confirmed with the media handout from the CEO Nagaland making no mention of the polling process in Mokokchung. Calls made to the Mokokchung district administration, including the police, remained unanswered despite repeated attempts.
