Rajahmundry: TD supporters and ward members of Venkatapuram gram panchayat ransacked the office and destroyed the furniture in a bid to thwart holding of election for the post of upa-sarpanch at Eluru rural mandal in West Godavari on Friday.
For conducting the election for upa-sarpanch at the gram panchayat of Venkatapuram, Eluru divisional panchayat officer Ch. Chinna Rao was appointed as election officer on Friday. The gram panchayat has 20 ward members of whom six are supporters of Eluru MLA Badeti Kota Rama Rao while 11 oppose him, The remaining three are supporters of YSR Congress.
The supporters of TD MLA and those who oppose him entered into heated arguments and raised slogans against one another. The MLA supporters then allegedly resorted to violence destroying the office furniture and created panic among other members in a deliberate attempt to ensure that the election was not held.
With tension prevailing at the gram panchayat office, police was called in to restore normalcy. Meanwhile, the election officer Rao announced that as the prevailing atmosphere at the office was not conducive to conduct election for the office of upa-sarpnach, he would conduct the election at a later day. However, the police booked a case on 10 persons including those from outside under sections 427, 448, 323, 506 read with 34 of IPC and investigation is on.
