2 Officers On Poll Duty Die Of Heart Attack In Bihar

Patna: Polling in five constituencies in Bihar in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections passed off peacefully, with a provisional voter turnout of 60 per cent, almost one per cent less than that of the 2019 general elections, officials said.

Two persons engaged on poll duty died of cardiac arrest in Araria and Supaul Lok Sabha seats, they said.

The polling was also held in Jhanjharpur, Madhepura and Khagaria constituencies.

The voting was largely peaceful, barring an incident of damage caused to an EVM following a minor clash between two groups of supporters inside a polling station in Khagaria, officials said.

The voter turnout in these five Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections was 61.22 per cent.

Araria recorded 62.80 per cent voter turnout followed by Supaul (62.40), Madhepura (61) Khagaria (58.20) and Jhanjharpur (55.50).

“Voting began at 7 am amid tight security. After the deadline for voting ended at 6 pm, around 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded. But this figure is provisional,” Chief Electoral Officer H R Srinivasa said.

The turnout percentage will increase voters had been in queues at certain booths at 6 pm, he said.

The CEO said that voters boycotted polling at nine booths out of total 9,848 polling centers because of certain local issues.

“One EVM got damaged following a minor clash between two groups of supporters inside a polling station in Khagaria Lok Sabha seat. The incident will be analysed by the EC observers tomorrow to decide the further course of action,” he said.

About the death of two persons, he said a Home guard, Mahendra Shah, and an official Shailendra Kumar died of cardiac arrest in Araria and Supaul seats respectively.

“Their bodies were handed over to the family members after post-mortem examination,” said the CEO.

Talking to reporters, JS Gangwar, Additional Director General (ADG) of Bihar Police (Headquarters), said, around 40,000 security personnel and 19,666 home guards were deployed in the five Lok Sabha seats for smooth conduct of polls on Tuesday.

Security forces also recovered Rs 80 lakh in cash and 1.40 lakh litre of liquor (worth Rs 3.75 crore) from different places in these five Lok Sabha seats on Tuesday.

The sale and consumption of alcohol is banned in Bihar since April 2016.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)