The Hindu : Tension as Doda goes to the polls

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 08, 2002

Front Page

Front Page

Tension as Doda goes to the polls

By Shujaat Bukhari

KISHTWAR (DODA) OCT. 7. Tension mounted in this mountainous region today when militants detonated an improvised explosive device near Doda town killing one policemen and injuring four others.

Amid unprecedented security arrangements, six segments of Doda district go to the polls tomorrow in the fourth and last phase of elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.

Police said militants detonated an IED near Baigra village when a police party was passing through the area to oversee the poll arrangements. The blast killed a policeman on the spot. Three militants were killed in an encounter elsewhere in the district, police said. However, a top police official told The Hindu that these incidents would not have any impact on the elections. "We have made all arrangements and the security forces have taken over all the 534 polling stations across the district,'' he said.

All the polling staff have been despatched to their destinations. At 46 polling stations in the remote and hilly areas, the authorities have airlifted the forces and the polling staff. Since this last phase is seen as crucial, security has been beefed up and the para-military forces and the Army have stepped up patrolling. The security forces have launched area-domination and sanitisation operations to ensure peaceful balloting. About 18,000 additional para-troopers have been deployed in the six constituencies. An estimated 485,000 voters are expected to choose their representatives from 56 candidates in the six segments of Doda, Banihal, Inderwal, Bhaderwah, Kishtwar and Ramban, besides one segment of Lolab in Kupwara district.

In other developments, a general strike was observed in Srinagar and other parts of the valley today in protest against the alleged blasphemous remarks of an American minister of the church, Rev. Jerry Falwill, against Prophet Mohammed.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

Stories in this Section

Kashmiris want to live with India, says PM

Tension as Doda goes to the polls

T.N. calls general strike

Salman held, asked to compensate accident victims

Commendable voter turnout: PM

SIMI ban: SC notice to Centre

MPSC chairman remanded

Kashmir will top PM's talks during 3-nation tour

Temple opened for public