Three teachers on polling duty killed as SUV collides with truck in Chhattisgarh

KONDAGAON: Three school teachers on polling duty lost their lives when an SUV they were travelling in collided with a truck in Chhattisgarh’s Kondagaon district on Wednesday, the police said.

The incident took place in the early hours near Bahigaon village under Keshkal police station limits when the polling officials were returning after submitting electronic voting machines (EVMs) at Kondagaon district headquarters, he said.

Polling in the Kondagaon district was held in the first phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly elections on Tuesday in which votes were cast in 20 of the state’s 90 constituencies. A sports utility vehicle (SUV) carrying the officials collided with a truck, killing two of them on the spot. The other official succumbed to injuries during treatment in a hospital, he said.

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The school teachers were identified as Shiv Netam, Santram Netam and Harendra Uikey, he said. A case has been registered in this connection and further investigation is underway, he added. The second phase of Chhattisgarh elections will be held on November 17.