Odisha: BJP candidate arrested for allegedly vandalising EVM
Bhubaneswar (PTI): A BJP candidate was arrested in Odisha's Khurda district for allegedly vandalising an EVM as he had to wait in queue for a long to cast his vote because the machine malfunctioned, officials said on Sunday.
Prashant Jagdev, the BJP MLA of Chilika, has been fielded this time from the Khurda assembly segment. The incident happened on Saturday at booth 114 in Bolagad block's Kaunripatna in the Begunia assembly segment where he is registered as a voter.
Jagdev went to the booth along with his wife, but as the EVM malfunctioned, he had to wait for some time to cast his vote. Soon, a war of words broke out between him and the presiding officer, amid which he allegedly pulled the EVM from the table, as a result of which it fell and broke, officials said.
Superintendent of Police Avinash Kumar said the MLA was arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged by the presiding officer.
A court later sent him to judicial custody, and at present, he is lodged at the Khurda jail, officials said.
Besides the Representation of People's Act, Jagdev was booked under different sections of the IPC, the SP said.
In his complaint, the presiding officer alleged that the MLA created a disturbance at the booth, obstructed the voting process and abused the polling personnel, Kumar said.
"We have requested the District Election Officer (DEO) to check the CCTV footage of the incident," he said, adding that an investigation was underway.
A BJP leader claimed that the allegations against Jagdev were politically motivated.
"The presiding officer misbehaved with several voters and did the same with the MLA," he alleged.
The state's ruling BJD also filed a complaint with the chief electoral officer (CEO), seeking stern action against Jagdev.
"He attacked the polling personnel in the booth and then fled the spot by hiding in the vehicle of Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi," BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra alleged.
Polling was held on Saturday for the state's six Lok Sabha seats and 42 assembly constituencies, simultaneously
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At least 4 people killed in one of largest Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia
Kyiv, May (AP): At least four people, including three near Moscow, died in one of the largest Ukrainian overnight attacks against Russia since the start of the war, according to Russian local authorities.
A woman was killed after a drone hit her home in Khimki, a city just northwest of Moscow, and two men died in the village of Pogorelki 10 km north of the capital, according to local Gov. Andrei Vorobyev.
In social media updates, Vorobyev said Ukrainian drones had also damaged unspecified “infrastructure” and several high-rises.
In Moscow itself, at least 12 people were wounded in the nighttime strike, mostly near the entrance to the city's oil refinery, mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported. Sobyanin reported the “technology” of the refinery has not been damaged.
Russian defences shot down 81 drones headed for Moscow overnight, state agency Tass reported, citing Sobyanin, marking one of the largest attacks on the Russian capital since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
One man was also killed as a drone struck a lorry in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, according to local authorities.
Russian air defences destroyed 556 drones over Russia overnight, the country's defence ministry said Sunday morning. Shortly after midday local time, it reported that over 1,000 had been shot down or jammed in the previous 24 hours.
Russia's largest airport — Moscow's Sheremetyevo — said drone debris had fallen on its premises without causing damage.
Russia attacked Ukraine with 287 drones overnight on Sunday, 279 of which were shot down or jammed, the Ukrainian air force reported.
According to Ukraine's estate emergency service, the strikes injured 8 people in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region: three in the regional capital of Dnipro, four in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih, and one in the district of Synelkove.
Residential buildings were damaged in all three locations, the service said.
