Odisha ballot panel urged to merge polling cubicles in Kalahandi over Maoist menace
Express News Service
BHAWANIPATNA/BHUBANESWAR: The Kalahandi district administration has urged the State Election Commission (SEC) to merge 96 polling cubicles within the areas affected by the Maoist menace after recent Maoist posters threatening to boycott rural polls surfaced on Saturday.
Three pamphlets and one handwritten notice of Naxals threatening the locals to boycott panchayat polls have been noticed by some locals of Laxmipur village within the district on Saturday morning.
Kalahandi SP Saravana Vivek M stated the bomb detection and disposal squad was despatched to the spot as per the usual working process. Locals have been requested to not stroll close to the posters and vehicular motion was restricted within the space until midday, he stated.
During the combing operation, the safety personnel didn’t get well any improvised explosive system and the posters have been later faraway from the spot.
On February 5, the pink rebels had put up posters threatening the villagers of Madanpur Rampur block within the district to boycott elections. They had planted landmines that claimed the lifetime of an area journalist.
“Initial investigation suggests the members of Kandhamal-Kalahandi-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division are behind the recent incidents of planting IEDs and threatening villagers by putting up posters/banners to boycott polls. Area domination exercises are being carried out by the forces in all the sensitive areas to avoid any incident of Naxal violence,” stated a senior police officer.
The officer stated in view of Maoists menace the SEC has been requested to merge 96 polling cubicles in Naxal affected areas of the district to 24 to make sure clean conduct of the elections. “We are hopeful, the Election Commission will consider our request,” he stated.
The locals have additionally expressed their displeasure as two civilians misplaced their lives in Kalahandi and Kandhamal districts in Naxal violence forward of the three-tier panchayat polls.
“In the past, the red ultras used to issue an apology if any civilian was killed in Naxal violence. However, it seems they have no regrets now and they are also targeting the innocent persons,” stated an area resident.
During the second part of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections on April 18, 2019, one girl polling official was shot useless by armed Maoists within the Naxal-infested Kandhamal district. In one other separate incident, the pink rebels had additionally set a car carrying the polling officers on fireplace however no lack of life was reported within the incident.
