Assam: Police resort to blank-firing after UPPL-BPF supporters clash in Chirang

CHIRANG: Even as voters from 19 Constituencies from the Kokrajhar and Chirang districts headed out to the booths to exercise their franchise, shots rang out in Chirang in the strife torn Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) of Assam.

Confusion at a polling centre under the Sidli Police Station in Chirang led to a clash between supporters of the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) reportedly got into a scuffle. Police then had to resort to blank firing.

"An old lady with vision problems had been told by the Presiding Officer to cast her vote on the right-hand side. Somebody heard that and assumed that she had been asked to vote for a particular party," Sudhakar Singh, the Superintendent of Police, Chirang, told Inside Northeast. "Members of the public turned unruly and the Presiding Officer was dealt a couple of blows. To bring the situation under control, the jawans deployed at the station fired bullets in the air to disperse the mob."

ALSO READ: Assam: Monica Boro, national-level athlete suffering from kidney failure, appeals CM Sonowal for help

The SP however denied the reports that the clash was between members of the BPF and UPPL parties. However, sources on the ground said that supporters of the parties were indeed involved in the scuffle, with both party's voters turning rowdy over the suspected foul play at the voting station.

In the second phase of polling, 10,23,404 voters will decide the future of 111 candidates by exercising their franchise across 1,407 polling stations. In the second round of voting, votes will be cast in 19 Constituencies across the two districts.

It is pertinent to mention here that elections to the 40-member BTC were earlier scheduled by the Commission on April 4, 2020 but had to be deferred because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council comprising 4 Assam districts has been under Assam Governor Jagadish Mukhi’s rule on expiry of its five-year term on April 27, 2020.

To support our brand of fearless and investigative journalism, support us HERE.

Download:                                                                  

The Inside Northeast app HERE for News, Views, and Reviews from Northeast India.

Do keep following us for news on-the-go. We deliver the Northeast