FEROZPUR: A man was killed in poll-related violence at Lakhmir Ke Hithad village in Ferozpur district on Sunday.

The accident took place when a group of men, after burning a ballot box, were trying to speed away in their car, but mowed down Mahinder Singh (50) while doing so.

The men, who are yet to be identified, were trying to capture a polling

before the accident.The vehicle had a Maharashtra registration number.

Before they fled in the car, the men had gotten into a scuffle with cops posted at the polling booth. Seeing this, voters ran for cover. On getting information about the incident, a police team led by SP (investigation) Baljit Singh Sidhu reached the spot and cordoned off the entire area around the polling booth.

The village has 264 voters. Of them, 103 had already cast their vote before the incident. When contacted, Ferozepur additional deputy commissioner (development) Gurmit Singh Multani said polling at Lakhmir Ke Hitahd had been suspended immediately after the incident and the state election commission was informed about itr. “A compensation of Rs 1 lakh has been announced for the kin of the deceased,” he said.

Both candidates in the fray in the village belong to the Congress. The villagers claimed that they had approached the Congress MLA with a request to mediate for an unanimous poll between the two, but the candidates were reluctant and this resulted in the incident and the death of a fellow villager.

Meanwhile, police have registered a case under various sections of the

against eight persons at Mamdot police station. A manhunt has also been launched to identify and arrest the men involved in the booth capturing and killing.