Itanaga:

A poll officer and a police constable of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRBn) died due to cardiac arrest during the simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Arunachal Pradesh on April 19, a senior poll official said.

Three other people were taken to hospital after suffering heart attacks, he said.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pawan Kumar Sain told reporters here on Saturday that the deployment at Balupothar polling station in Bordumsa, Changlang district Changdam Yangchang, the polling officer, suffered a heart attack during the voting and died while being taken to the hospital.

He said that Constable Passang Dondup of the 4th IRBn passed away at Tower Gate in Kamle district while on duty in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Three other poll workers also suffered cardiac arrest and were hospitalized.

Presiding officer SK Paul, deployed in Upper Siang district, suffered a heart attack during polling and was admitted to a hospital in Dibrugarh, Assam, adding that his condition was stable.

“Odisha CRPF personnel Dinesh Kumar Panda, who was deployed on election duty in Kulonkume district, also suffered a heart attack and was admitted to Tomoriba Health with the Institute of Medical Sciences (TRIHMS) and is currently on ventilator treatment,” Sain said.

The chief executive said Kesang Goiba, the election official of Rumgong in Siang district, also suffered from heart disease and was currently receiving treatment at a hospital in East Siang district.

“An ex-gratia payment of Rs 15 lakh will be made to the next of kin of the deceased and other amounts will be paid as per the standards prescribed by the Election Commission,” Sain said.

The northeastern state held polls for simultaneous elections to two Lok Sabha seats and 50 assembly constituencies on Friday. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has won 10 seats unopposed in the 60-member parliament.

The CEO added that the turnout for the assembly elections in the state was 76.44 per cent, while the turnout for the eastern and western seats in the Lok Sabha polls was 76.37 per cent and 70.11 per cent respectively.

The CEO said the re-poll is likely to be held at five polling stations, four in Upper Subansiri and one in Kulon Kume district.

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