Around 70% voter turnout in Karnataka
New Delhi, May 12: Around 70 per cent voters exercised their franchise for Karnataka Assembly polls on Saturday, the Election Commission said here.
Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said the figure was likely to go up as data was still being collated from various polling stations where people queued up beyond 6 p.m. when the voting was supposed to end.
"As of now, the total turnout figure received is 70 per cent. However, we expect this number to increase, and hope it surpasses that of the previous elections," he said.
The Election Commission said the polling percentage may breach the 71.4 per cent mark recorded in the 2013 Assembly election in Karnataka which has nearly 5.07 crore voters.
Sinha said the highest polling of 76 per cent was recorded in Chikkaballapura and Ramanagara while Bengaluru Urban had the lowest turnout at 48 per cent.
Some 2,654 candidates, including 216 women, are in the fray for 222 seats out of a total 224. Voting was deferred in two constituencies.
Counting of votes will take place on May 15.
Sinha said the "seizure of cash, liquor and other goods was to the tune of Rs 186 crore, which was six times more than the Lok Sabha and eight times more than the Assembly election in 2013".
He said there 26 cases of paid news reported across the state, out of which 15 cases have been proved as paid news.
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Tribal couple, son hacked to death over witchcraft suspicion in Jharkhand's Godda
Godda (Jharkhand) (PTI): A tribal couple and their minor son were allegedly hacked to death by their relatives in Jharkhand's Godda district over suspicion of practising witchcraft, police said on Tuesday.
The incident took place in Danga Tola under Deodanr police station area late on Monday and police recovered their bodies on Tuesday.
"A tribal couple and their minor son were hacked to death at Danga Tola in Godda. Preliminary investigation suggests the victims were killed over suspicion of practising witchcraft," Godda Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Ashok Ravidas told PTI.
Three persons have been arrested so far, he said.
"Police have arrested three persons in this connection. During initial interrogation, the accused told the police that they suspected that the victims were practising witchcraft," the SDPO said.
The axe used to kill them has also been recovered, and further investigation into the matter is underway, he said.
Deodanr police station officer-in-charge Amit Marki said the deceased tribal couple has been identified as Darbari Murmu (55) and his wife Maki Baski (50).
Their deceased son was around 12 years old. The bodies have been sent to Sadar Hospital in Godda for post-mortem examination.
