DGP Harish Kumar Gupta (on the left) and CS Jawahar Reddy (on the right)

By TNM Staff

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday, May 16, summoned Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Jawahar Reddy and Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta with regard to the polling violence in the state. The officials have been asked to provide an explanation at its New Delhi office. Instances of violence were reported in several parts of Andhra Pradesh during the polling on May 13, in which EVMs were also damaged. The tensions are yet to subside in Palnadu district, where the police have imposed section 144 of the IPC to curb the violence.  

The ECI sought the reasons behind the government ‘s failure, resulting in violent incidents during the elections, and the preventive measures implemented in response to the clashes. According to the reports, the officials held a meeting with the intelligence unit officials on Wednesday to compile a report on the same. 

In Andhra Pradesh, voting for simultaneous elections to parliamentary and assembly constituencies was held on May 13. On election day, there were reports of violent incidents in four locations of Anantapur’s Tadiparti constituency, Chandragiri constituency in Tirupati,  Macherla and Narasaraopet in Palnadu district. Violence continued even after the polling day.

This story was originally published in thenewsminute.com. Read the full story here.