By IANS,
Jaipur: One person was killed and at least five others were injured Sunday when the police opened fire on a violent mob trying to capture a voting booth during repoll in Rajasthan’s Dausa parliamentary constituency.
“The police had to open fire on the mob as they tried to overpower a polling (officials’) party and capture a booth in the Dausa constituency. One person was killed in the incident,” a police office told IANS.
The injured were admitted in hospitals, the official said.
The polling officials were later escorted out of the area in Dausa, about 65 km from here.
“We are looking into the incident and have cancelled repoll here,” an Election Commission official said.
Dausa, a reserved seat, was considered a hyper-sensitive constituency.
K.L. Meena, a Meena community leader, and Qamar Rabbani Chechi, a Kashmiri Gujjar, are among the contestants. Gujjars are classified as tribals in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Congress has fielded Lakshman Meena while the BJP candidate is Ramkishore Meena.
Large-scale agitations to press demand the Scheduled Tribe status for the Gujjar community in the last couple of years have centered in and around the Dausa constituency.
Gujjars are currently classified among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Rajasthan.
The Meena community, classified as tribals, has opposed the Gujjars’ demand.
Repolling in 59 other polling stations was largely peaceful, officials said.
The Election Commission had ordered repoll in 60 polling stations following complaints of irregularities during the May 7 polls.