Border Security Force (BSF) personnel resorted to firing in the air at a polling booth in Rasoolpur Gujran village of Kairana constituency on Thursday as some people, without voter identity cards, allegedly tried to forcibly enter the premises to cast their votes, the police said.
An FIR was registered against unknown persons for creating ruckus and disrupting the voting process.
Akhilesh Singh, District Magistrate of Shamli district said that on the complaint of BSF personnel, an FIR has been registered under IPC Section 147 (punishment for rioting) and various sections of Representation of People Act.
Mobile clips
“BSF personnel have submitted several mobile clips of the incident with the complaint. We are also procuring mobile footage to identify the persons involved in the incident. The culprits will be identified and stern action will be taken against them,” said Mr. Singh.
At around 12 p.m., when polling was going peacefully at polling booth number 71 located at primary school of Rasoolpur Gujran village, two voters alleged that the polling staff asked them to vote for the SP-BSP candidate. Hence, they returned without casting their vote.
The news spread in the area and a mob led by BJP worker and former MLC Virendra Singh reached the polling centre. At least 25 people tried to barge inside the polling station and when security personnel refused them entry, they started shouting slogans against the election staff.
Mr. Singh said that to control the situation, the BSF personnel fired in the air to disperse the crowd.
Mr. Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Kumar also rushed to the spot to control the situation. They tried to calm down the agitated villagers. Polling was suspended for 20 minutes and resumed only after the situation became normal.
