Three injured in Faridkot clash
FARIDKOT: Three persons were injured seriously at Machaki Kalan village in Faridkot district during the zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections on Tuesday. The victims were identified as Raj Singh, Malkeet Singh and Sukhpal Singh, residents of the same village. They belong to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
Police said the incident took place in the evening when Congress workers led by Gurshawinder Singh entered a booth when the polling was almost over. SAD workers opposed this, leading to a clash. The injured were admitted to the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot. Station house officer (SHO) Inderjit Singh said refused to comment on violence.
Around 65 percent votes were polled in the district on Tuesday for 10 zila parishad and 60 block samiti seats amid allegations of booth capturing at half a dozen places. The polling remained largely peaceful as no incident of violence was reported.
The Shiromani Akali Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party alleged that the Congress workers captured booths at Bhan Singh Colony, Simerewala, Mehmuana and other villages, demanding re-polling at these booths. AAP workers alleged they were beaten up by their Congress counterparts at Nanaksar Basti when they were making video of booth capturing.
The Congress workers forced them to delete the video, they claimed.
Faridkot senior superintendent of police (SSP) Raj Bachan Singh Sandhu said no incident of booth capturing took place in the district. Police conducted the polls peacefully, he said.
Congress workers claimed that SAD and AAP were rattled by their imminent defeat and that is why they were levelling baseless allegations.