People try to lodge a protest after an EVM developed snag at booth number 31 in Phusro. Picture by Pankaj Singh

Phusro (Bokaro), March 25: The civic body elections here concluded peacefully as 50 per cent polling was registered in the 28 wards.

The polling started slowly in the morning with three electronic voting machines (EVM) developing snag due to faulty handling by officials at booth number 29, 31 and 42. The faulty machines were replaced after two hours.

Seven persons were taken into custody from booth No. 33 and 34 for allegedly trying to disturb the voting process and cast bogus votes. Apart from this, no untoward incident was reported during the polling from the Naxalite dominated Phusro, where 26 booths were declared ultra-sensitive last evening.

Returning officer Bijay Kumar Singh said the counting of the votes would take place on March 27 amid tight security. He also said that no re-polling had been ordered though few complaints of booth grabbing, which were baseless, were lodged.

The returning officer said that peaceful polls were reported from almost all the polling centres and the administration replaced three faulty EVM machines immediately after receiving complaints.

The polling in the morning hours was a bit slow and only 25 per cent polling was reported till 1.30pm but it gained momentum in the late afternoon, he claimed.

All the voters, including women, did cast their votes fearlessly, said Singh. Women showed great enthusiasm for casting their votes as they stood in queue for several hours under the scorching sun, said Singh.

Women outnumbered men in at least 11 booths The Telegraph visited.

Singh also thanked the people of Phusro for their co-operation.