Tags:
Journalism of Courage
GUWAHATI, OCT 3: Ultimately the voters in Assam boldly defied all kinds of threats and intimidations issued by the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and came out to vote in large numbers even as six police personnel were gunned down in different districts.
The polling percentage was tentatively put at over 60 per cent till evening today with election officials here saying the final figures could be more. The details of polling were yet to be received from the far-flung areas.
The massive security bandobast, involving about 71,000 police and paramilitary personnel, apart from the Army as a stand-by, paid dividends, resulting in few cases of disruption of the poll process.
Polling was the mostly peaceful in Nagaon, Nalbari and Darrang, all ULFA-infested districts, with the turnout crossing the 60 per cent mark in all three areas. The ULFA had shot dead a senior Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) local leader in Nagaon yesterday, while party leader and minister Zoiinath Sharma had a narrow escape onThursday.
However, suspected Bodo rebels shot dead three Assam Police Task Force (APTF) jawans and two homeguards in Barpeta district early today. One CRPF personnel who was injured in another attack by the rebels in Nalbari district also succumbed to his injuries today.
In the trouble-prone Kokrajhar district, polling was by and large peaceful, with the polling percentage expected to finally touch the 70 per cent mark. AGP president and CM Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said the common man had given a befitting reply to the anti-national and disruptive forces by turning out in large numbers to exercise their franchise.
