Bombs hurled at polling booths in East Kolkata Monday, May 10 2004 10:32 Hrs (IST)
Kolkata:
Miscreants hurled crude bombs injuring three persons minutes before the official commencement of polling in Eastern Kolkata's Beliaghata area, under Calcutta North-East Lok Sabha seat, police said.
The incident occurred around 6.30 hrs (IST) on the R L Mitra Road near Phoolbagan.
The miscreants, whose political allegiance was not yet known, hurled three country made bombs creating panic among the residents of the area.
However, security personnel posted at the nearby Surakanya school and a few polling booths around it rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control.
The sources said normal voting resumed at the booths with security reinforcement provided by the Beliaghata police station.
Meanwhile, polling was delayed by half an hour at two booths under Haringhata police station in West Bengal's Nadia district when the EVMs were found to have the seals of a political party besides the Government seals.
Voters at booths number 83/146 and 83/147 refused to cast their votes following which the polling personnel informed the election observers about the incident and polling resumed half an hour later.
Polling was also delayed for a few minutes due to a malfunctioning of EVM at a booth under the Mejia police station in Bankura district, the sources said.
According to a report from Siliguri, polling in seven Parliamentary constituencies in North Bengal began peacefully with tight security arrangements.