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Kashmir polling ends with more blood...
The fourth and final round of the state election was marred by an attack on a town hall polling station in Doda. Three militants â described by police as a suicide squad â stormed the site using heavy arms and grenades, seriously wounding four soldiers and three civilians and leaving three dead. An exchange of fire between forces guarding the station and the militants lasted less than an hour, during which two paramilitary soldiers and one militant were killed. The two surviving militants then escaped into the rugged terrain surrounding the city. Two of the injured soldiers were airlifted to a hospital in Jammu. You've got to admire the Kashmiris for voting at all, when gangsters threaten to kill them just for showing up at the polls... The attack came as the final phase of legislative elections began. More than 50,000 Indian paramilitary forces were summoned to monitor the final round of the staggered elections, which began in September. Voter turn out was estimated to be between 45 and 50 percent over the four rounds of the elections, the state's chief secretary, I.S. Malhi told Reuters. "Although we have not computed the figures, the overall percentage of all the phases will be between 45 and 50 percent," Malhi told reporters at a news conference in the winter capital of Jammu. There were 430,000 eligible voters in Tuesday's round of elections â with Doda seeing a greater than 45 percent turnout. That must really tighten the collective sphincters of the the killers brigades. But I'd still say it would be best for all concerned if the Indos held that plebiscite... Hundreds of people have been killed in the run-up to the elections, among them more than 130 political activists and several political candidates. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-10-08 |
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