Allegations of attempts of EVM tampering were made on Saturday in Keonjhar district that had gone to polls in the third phase on April 23.
As per reports, a youth was detained by workers of a political party late on Friday night while he was roaming suspiciously in front of a strong room containing EVMs in the premises of the Odisha School of Mining Engineering (OSME) here.
As per the allegations, while some BJP workers were keeping an eye on the strong room, where the EVMs of Keonjhar Sadar and Telkoi Assembly constituencies have been kept, in apprehension of EVM tampering, a group of people were seen roaming in a suspicious manner in the college premises. A few other persons were also sitting in a four-wheeler outside the college.
The BJP workers caught hold of a person identified as Ashapradeep Mohanty, who claims to be an engineer, while others managed to flee the spot. Later, police reached the spot and took the youth into custody for interrogation.
When asked, Keonjhar Sub-Collector Somnath Pradhan refuted the allegations of EVM tampering bid and said, “The man was moving in the college premises, not near the strong room. We have constantly kept an eye on all strong rooms in the district. Nevertheless, we are interrogating the youth in this connection.”