A representative image of EVM.
Credit: PTI Photo
Nagpur: Congress workers ransacked a car that was transporting an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) to the strong room in Nagpur after polling concluded for the Maharashtra assembly elections on Wednesday evening, police said.
The police, however, clarified the EVM in question, which escaped damage in the attack, was not used in polling and it was kept on standby.
The incident took place in the Killa area of the Central Nagpur constituency when polling officials were transporting the EVM from booth number 268 to the designated strong room in a car.
Workers of the opposition party claimed the EVM was being taken to a photocopy shop to print a document and they started questioning poll party officials over violation of protocols in handling the machines.
According to the police, the vehicle was intercepted by a group of individuals, who raised concerns that EVM protocols were being violated. Tensions escalated when Congress workers began pelting stones at the car.
Reports suggested officials inside the car were physically attacked, but this was not confirmed by the police.
Residents of the area quickly alerted the police, prompting a swift response. A team from the Kotwali police station rushed to the scene, and secured both the EVM and the officials.
The vehicle, along with the EVM, was later escorted to the Kotwali police station for further investigation.
Senior police officials said they were looking into the matter, and an offence will be registered based on their findings.
Meanwhile, senior leaders from both the BJP and the Congress rushed to the Kotwali police station, where they engaged in a heated argument over the incident.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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