Chhattisgarh byelection: Teacher on poll duty dies

A teacher, who was on polling duty at a booth for the by-election in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada Assembly seat, died after complaining of uneasiness on Monday, an official said.

Prima facie, it seems that Chandraprakash Thakur (33) died of a heart attack but the exact cause of his death will be known after the autopsy, the official from the local administration said.

Thakur, an assistant teacher in a government school, was deputed as the presiding officer at Chikpal booth (no.175) in Katekalyan area of Dantewada Assembly seat where voting for the by-election was underway, he said.

Thakur complained of uneasiness around 6 am following which he was rushed to a local hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, the official said.

The body was sent for postmortem, he said.

Another officer was deployed at the polling booth in place of Thakur, he added.

Polling was underway since 7 am in the Dantewada Assembly seat, where the by-poll was necessitated due to the death of BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi in a Naxal attack in April this year.