Jharkhand: Tension prevails during counting of votes of Palamu district bar association

Tension prevailed on Palamu District Bar Association campus on Sunday after two rival groups engaged in a verbal duel and allegedly destroyed ballot papers during counting of votes for the new executive committee including president and secretary of the association, official said.Polling for the new office bearers of the district bar association was held on Saturday.

Tension prevailed on Palamu District Bar Association campus on Sunday after two rival groups engaged in a verbal duel and allegedly destroyed ballot papers during counting of votes for the new executive committee including president and secretary of the association, official said.

Polling for the new office bearers of the district bar association was held on Saturday. Of the 549 voters, 527 exercised their franchise, officials said.

At the fag end of counting, Ajay Kumar Pandey, contesting for the post of secretary, raised objection on three ballot papers that did not have the signatures of the presiding officer. This led to an altercation between two groups of candidates including rival Rajiv Ranjan Prasad as Pandey demanded a stop to counting till the issue was resolved. In the melee, some ballot papers were allegedly destroyed, officials said.

Prasad was leading by 13 votes after the completion of counting of 500 votes. Returning officer BN Choubey said counting will remain suspended till a guideline by the Jharkhand State Bar Council was received. The officer-in-charge of Medininagar Town police station, Abhay Kumar Sinha, said adequate force has been deployed in and around the campus to maintain law and order.

Subdivisional magistrate Anurag Kumar Tiwari said, ''We know about the situation at the counting centre. Executive magistrate Rashmi Ranjan has been sent to investigate the matter and submit a report.'' He said the district administration will intervene only after receiving the report.