AURANGABAD, March 1: It would be an understatement to say complete chaos marked polling in the last phase here on Saturday which saw 55 per cent polling. Besides rampant blunders in the 13-lakh voter list prepared by the election office, the polling was marked by booth capturing by alleged Shiv Sainiks.Things got out of hand late evening as an officer in charge of the Bhori Katla polling station caught red-handed two alleged Shiv Sainiks bogus voting for the Shiv Sena candidate.What followed beats everything else. The police let off the goons reasoning that it was the only way to diffuse the tension that arose due to a menacingly huge mob of their supporters that had gathered by then. To top it all, the minister in charge of the district, Chandrakant Khaire, entered the scene and began abusing police inspector Jagmohan Singh Mayal for having touched his "innocent" boys.Khaire threatened inspector Mayal with suspension saying he would do well to realise that he was one of the favourite ministers ofShiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, eye-witnesses said. Khaire refused to return the call of this correspondent when contacted on Sunday morning.Returning officer, I S Chahal, addressing a press conference late night on Saturday, said the fact that the police reached the Bhori Katla booth within five minutes of the first alarm showed the efficiency of the election machinery here. Meanwhile Deputy Commissioner of Police, Syed said he had also filed cases against the presiding office, B N Bhope, a primary school teacher, whom he suspected of connivance with the Sainiks.JD candidate, Mustaq Ahmed said he was boycotting counting to protest large-scale bogus voting in the constituency and the suspected role of the election officers in dropping the names of over one lakh voters, mostly Muslims, from the list.The day saw thousands returning, shocked to find their names missing from the voter lists. Some found their names present though slashed off indicating reasons that ranged from "shifted residences" to"dead".
