NEWS
ANALYSIS
SPECIALS
INTERVIEW
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
CONSTITUENCY
ISSUES
GALLERY
MANIFESTOS
INDIA SPEAKS!
COUNTDOWN
CHAT
PREVIOUS RESULTS
SCHEDULE
DISCUSSION GROUP

Police kill 3 as violence mars AP poll

Shireen in Hyderabad

Three people were killed when the police opened fire to disperse Congress and Telugu Desam Party workers at Porumammidla village in the Badvel assembly constituency in the faction-ridden Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh today.

The police said the warring groups hurled bombs at each other for more than two hours, forcing the police to fire six rounds in the air. As the violence continued, leaving five people including a deputy superintendent of police injured, the police opened fire.

The police also fired three rounds in the air in Badvel town when Congress and TDP activists clashed near a polling booth after state Minor Irrigation Minister D Veera Reddy arrived there.

In another incident in the same district, the sitting MLA and TDP nominee from the Kamalapuram assembly constituency, G Veerasiva Reddy, was taken into police custody after he poured water into three ballot boxes at Peddalapadu village.

Earlier, a TDP polling agent was killed in a bomb attack in the faction-ridden Cuddapah district.

State police spokesman Shujath Ali told this correspondent that Congress workers hurled crude bombs at a Telugu Desam polling agent at polling booth No 106 at Ankireddypalle village in the Kamalapuram assembly constituency. The victim, identified as T Bal Reddy, who worked as a record assistant in the meterology department, came to the polling booth as a TDP agent when the attack occurred.

As Reddy tried to escape, the assailants stabbed him to death. Polling in the booth was suspended in the wake of the incident.

According to the police spokesman, in another incident, the police resorted to a lathi charge to disperse an unruly mob and recovered 17 country-made bombs at Uppaluripally in the Kamalapuram assembly constituency. Additional forces were rushed to the village to prevent poll violence.

Twelve Lok Sabha and 84 assembly constituencies went to the polls in the first phase of the general election in this southern state on Sunday.

In the first five hours, approximately 37 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in the violence-prone Rayalaseema region and adjoining areas in south coastal Andhra and south Telangana regions.

At several other places, in Anantapur, Kurnool and Cuddapah districts, in the faction-ridden Rayalaseema region, minor incidents were reported such as clashes between rival groups of Congress and TDP activists, pouring of ink or water into the ballot boxes by miscreants and attempts to prevent voters from exercising their franchise.

However, the poll boycott call given by the outlawed People's War Group of Naxalites was largely ignored by the people.

According to reports reaching the state Chief Electoral Officer here, polling was brisk and peaceful in the Kuppam assembly constituency from where Chief Minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu is seeking re-election. Similarly, in the Pulivendla assembly constituency, from where Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy is contesting, heavy polling was reported.

As many as 744 candidates are in the fray in the first phase for the Lok Sabha and state assembly. They include Congress Working Committee member and former CM Kotla Vijayabhaskar Reddy, several of Naidu's ministers.

In the first phase, 9,211 polling stations have been identified as trouble-prone, where the district authorities have been empowered to take deterrent action to prevent poll irregularities.

Massive security arrangements have been made, with the deployment of 35,000 officers and other ranks for bandobust. Central police forces, comprising 58 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force, 24 companies of the Central Industrial Security Force, 15 companies of the Border Security Force and 11 companies of the Railway Protection Force have been drafted to assist the state police. Three companies of the Rapid Action Force were also deployed. In all, 553 armed platoons were posted in the areas where polls were held.

Tell us what you think of this report