Agra (UP), Apr 15 (PTI) Two ballot boxes were stolen in Rihawali village of Agra Rural constituency during the Uttar Pradesh panchayat elections on Thursday, police said.

SP (East) Ashok Venkat said a clash broke out between supporters of candidates fighting for the gram pradhan post following which the two ballot boxes were stolen.

Four people were injured in the incident and they were taken to SN Medical College and Hospital here for treatment, he said.

SSP (Agra) Muniraj told reporters that eight people have been arrested so far and further probe is on.

Meanwhile, District Magistrate Prabhu Narayan Singh said that he will request for repolling at the affected booth.

"We will request for repolling at the booth and action against the guilty will be taken,” he said.

Voting for the first of the four-phased Uttar Pradesh panchayat elections, seen as a semi-final to the 2022 Assembly election, began on Thursday in 18 districts with ballot papers.

More than 3.33 lakh candidates are in the fray in over 2.21 lakh seats in the first phase for the posts of zila panchayat (district council) members, kshetra (block) panchayat members, village panchayat heads and wards.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)