60% polling in Tripura

The polling for the Lok Sabha election in Tripura passed off peacefully on Thursday with a 60 per cent voter turnout.

It was the only state to go to poll today. A tight security blanket was thrown around all the polling stations in view of the poll boycott call made by the banned All-Tripura Tiger Force, official sources said.

The police said a group of ATTF ultras fired at a booth in the Dhanaipara School in West Tripura district a little after polling opened to scare away voters. No death or injury was reported.

A group of ATTF ultras also threatened voters at four villages in Mandai on Wednesday night that their fingers would be chopped off if they turned up to vote.

Assam Rifles jawans patrolling the area immediately swung into action and tried to catch the militants who managed to flee.

Special aerial surveillance was arranged for 150 booths, state's

Director General of Police G M Srivastava said.

He told reporters that special strike groups of security forces had been kept in readiness so that they could be airdropped from helicopters in case of emergencies.