Bhubaneswar: Tension prevailed in front of the strong (EVM) room at Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar (BJB) Autonomous College in Bhubaneswar after people mercilessly thrashed a man who was found roaming inside the strong room with the intentions of EVM tampering. The counting of votes for ULB polls is scheduled to begin tomorrow morning at 8 am.
According to reports, the candidates and their supporters, who have been keeping a close eye on the strong room at BJB College spotted a person holding an ID card, enter the strong room. However, minutes later the CCTV went offline which sparked suspicion among the people and they created an uproar that the EVMs are being tampered with by the accused.
The Commissionerate Police had made elaborate arrangements at the strong room to guard the EVMs. But the unauthorized entry of a man into the strong room and glitches in CCTV screening did not go well with the locals. As soon as the man was escorted out of the strong room by police personnel, locals gave him a sound thrashing as result he collapsed due to profuse bleeding.
As per sources, even though the police tried to handle the situation and rescue the accused man from getting lynched, the people allegedly started manhandling the police personnel. With no other options left, the cops resorted to mild lathi-charge to disperse the violent mob.
While several persons involved in the commotion sustained injuries and dispersed in different directions, the seriously injured man was rushed to the capital hospital, sources said.
Soon after, senior police officials reached the spot and took stock of the situation. Reportedly, more security personnel have been deployed at the strong room to avoid any other untoward incident.
