Zonal Officer Targeted Mistakenly Over Spare EVM in Nagpur Polling Incident

In Nagpur, a zonal officer was attacked by a group after a spare EVM was found in his car. The misunderstanding led to a confrontation involving stone pelting and vandalism. Authorities are investigating the incident, ensuring that the actual EVMs remained unharmed. The Maharashtra assembly elections proceeded peacefully otherwise.

A zonal officer in Nagpur's polling center faced violence after an altercation over a spare Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) found in his car. The incident ensued post-polling hours for the Maharashtra assembly elections on Wednesday, as reported by the police on Thursday.

The officer left the polling center when a group mistook the spare EVM in his vehicle as one used in the voting process. The misunderstanding led to them chasing and manhandling the officer, with stones pelted at both him and his vehicle, according to Nagpur Joint Commissioner of Police Nisar Tamboli.

Police have lodged a complaint against the attackers, confirming that no voting EVMs were damaged. Despite this incident, the election day, marked by a 62.05% voter turnout, remained largely peaceful. Votes will be counted on November 23.

(With inputs from agencies.)