EVM thrown into a well in Hassan
A man barged into a polling booth, snatched away an electronic voting machine (EVM) and threw it into a well at Chikkonhalli polling booth in Nuggehalli Gram Panchayat limits of Channarayapatna taluk in Hassan district on Friday.
Five polling personnel were placed under suspension for dereliction of duty in this connection. A total of six personnel, including three women, were deputed for this polling booth. The three were sleeping in a room adjacent to the polling booth and the rest were sleeping in another room.
At around 5 am, two of the three male officers went to answer nature’s call. The officer in the room heard somebody knocking on the door and assuming it to be one of the staff members, he opened the door. An unknown person immediately pushed the officer, barged into the room and escaped with the EVM.
The officer could not see the person as the room did not have electricity.Subsequently, a woman found the EVM floating in a nearby well. The officials rushed to the spot, retrieved the machine and replaced it with another.
