| Six
election officials kidnapped in Assam
Guwahati,
May 10:
Six polling officials were kidnapped by a group of militants in
Assam several hours before the Assembly elections got under way
on Thursday, police said.
A police spokesman
said the officials were seized on their way to a polling station
in Karbi Anglong district, 285 km south of Guwahati. "The militants
also snatched away ballot boxes and voting papers from the officials,"
he said.
The separatist
United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), which is opposed to the
electoral process in the tea-growing and oil-rich state, killed
37 political workers and candidates and wounded 80 in the three
weeks before the poll.
On Wednesday
night government forces shot dead a militant in an encounter at
Diphu about 270 km south of Guwahati. Three civilians were wounded
in cross-fire.
ULFA, formed
in 1979 and now the main rebel group in the state, accuses the Central
Government of exploiting Assam's resources and neglecting its economy.
Some 64,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been backed by
10,000 soldiers for the elections.
More than 900
candidates are seeking election in 126 constituencies from an electorate
of 14.43 million in the state despite threats from rebel groups.
"The best
possible security arrangement has been made so that people can cast
their vote peacefully," senior police official G.M. Srivasta
told Reuters. "In the prevailing circumstances, none of the
17,600 polling stations could be termed as safe." Large crowds
gathered at polling stations well before they had opened their doors.
Tea plantation workers were among the first as they had been given
a holiday. (Reuters)
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