KATHMANDU: A total of 56 ballot booklets were looted from a polling station in Dolakha District on Thursday, casting uncertainty over the voting process in the area.
The incident occurred at Golmeshwar Secondary School polling station in Tamakoshi Rural Municipality-4, Malu, shortly after voting began for the House of Representatives election.
According to officials, a group attempted to assault election staff deployed at the polling center and fled with the ballot booklets.
The dispute has not yet been resolved. Although an all-party meeting agreed to resume voting, the process has stalled after the missing ballot booklets could not be recovered.
Leaders of CPN-UML and Rastriya Swatantra Party have accused cadres of the Nepali Congress and the Nepali Communist Party of being involved in the ballot theft.
Police have identified three individuals allegedly involved in the incident and said legal action will be taken against them. Four others were also taken into custody.
Authorities said the polling officer may schedule voting for another day if the dispute remains unresolved. Police had also fired shots earlier in the morning after tensions escalated between rival groups at the polling station.
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