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| Wednesday, 3 December 2003 |
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Bullets and ballots in bandit-infested central India NEW DELHI, Tuesday (AFP) Paramilitary troops fought running battles Monday with political activists in the lawless ravines of Chambal in central India, where a former bandit king is contesting key provincial elections, police said. An unidentifed woman was killed by stray bullets as politicial rivals used guns to settle scores during balloting in the Bhind constituency of Madhya Pradesh state, ruled by India's main opposition Congress party. Bhind is in the Chambal badlands where robbers known in India as dacoits have held sway since the 19th century despite attempts by successive governments to curb lawlessness in the rugged region. Local police chief G.S. Poras said a political activist was also injured in the firefight and that gangsters attacked the security commander in Bhind's Minoha area and stole his pistol. Paramilitary troops fired from automatic weapons in the nearby Shivpuri district of Chambal after Congress workers and supporters of India's ruling Hindu nationalists fought street battles, others said. Shivpuri adjoins the Karaira constituency, where Malkhan Singh is counting on his fearsome reputation as a former bandit king to win an assembly seat. The outlaw, who surrendered to police in 1982 after running an unchallenged fiefdom since the 1970s in Chambal, argues that he is best qualified to put down local banditry because of his former skills. Meanwhile Indian military helicopters evacuated residents of a village in the desert state of Rajasthan after a freak flood inundated the region and disrupted balloting in provincial polls, reports said. Voting at two polling booths was halted as gushing water from a nearby canal flooded the village of Gheghera in Rajasthan, where India's main opposition Congress party is fighting to remain in power, officials said. |
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