Maoists call for poll boycott in U'khand

After Dhari area in Nainital district, suspected Maoists painted slogans in Someshwar in Almora today calling for boycott of the February 15 Assembly elections in Uttarakhand.

Posters, banners and painted slogans were found at various places in and around Someshwar this morning "asking the public to shun the polls and start a civil war", SSP Almora Dilip Singh Kanwar said.

Slogans were found on walls in red paint along with posters at Mahatma Gandhi Inter College, Chaunda Village and Kailika temple along with other public places in Chaunda.

Leaflets were also placed at various places, he said.

The banners, posters and painted slogans are being removed, he said, adding "the matter is of serious nature and will be dealt with strictly".

A Provincial Armed Constabulary team has been sent to the area to keep a vigil, he said.

Suspected Maoists had torched an official's vehicle, pasted posters and written on the walls near Dhari in Ninital district in the wee hours on February 2 threatening to disrupt the polls in Uttarakhand.

The administration had put the entire Kumaon division on high alert and stepped up deployment in the area.