Puri: Some unidentified miscreants have reportedly looted ballot box in Brahmagiri block of Puri district during the three-tier Panchayat Election in Odisha today.
The ballot box has been looted from booth-9 in Kasijharia village under Chapamanik panchayat amid strict security forces, said sources.
The voting process began at 7.30 am this morning. Some local youths created violence at the booth after a few hours the election started following which the local police had chased them away from the spot.
Thereafter, a youth suddenly entered the booth on a bike, took the ballot box, and escaped through the nearby forest.
Questions are being raised as that how can the ballot box be looted in the presence of such tight security forces in the area.
Notably, as many as 1,15,312 voters are casting their votes in Brahmagiri in the first phase of the Odisha Panchayat Elections today.
More than 67.51 lakh eligible voters will cast their votes for the candidates fighting for the position of Zilla Parishad members, sarpanches, Panchayat Samiti members, and ward members in Odisha. The voting will be carried out at 22,379 wards and 1,669 panchayats across the state, added reports.
As many as 13,785 booths have been identified as sensitive booths across Odisha among a total of 91,913 booths in the first phase of the Panchayat Polls.
Ms Kalinga