3 booked for murder bid after attack on home guard, poll staff

Ludhiana: Hathur Police booked a woman, who unsuccessfully contested for the post of sarpanch in the panchayat elections, and two of her accomplices on attempt to murder charge. They allegedly attacked a home guard at a polling station and abused election staff in Malla village.
The complainant, Gurbaksh Singh, told the police that he was presiding officer at the polling booth in Government High School, Malla village on Oct 15 and was also deputed as assistant returning officer for counting.He added that counting of votes of panch and sarpanch proceeded smoothly in the presence of all the seven candidates and Gurmail Singh was declared winner with 734 votes.
After the announcement, Amar Kaur, who was contesting for the post of sarpanch, demanded to know who had voted for whom. When the complainant said that such information was confidential, the accused and her accomplices started abusing the election staff. He added that a group of about 100 people, including Charanjit Noni and Sandeep Singh Malla, broke into the room with sharp-edged weapons.
They allegedly broke into the room and tried to pick up the election material, then assaulted Gurdev Singh, a home guard jawan, at the polling station. The complainant said that the gate was closed with the help of police personnel, using a bench. According to him, the accused created a ruckus for about an hour. No arrest has been made.