44.73 per cent voting recorded till 3 pm in Bihar

Around 44.73 per cent of 1.38 crore voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm in eight Lok Sabha seats of Bihar in the sixth phase of elections on Sunday, officials said.

A polling officer was killed at a booth in a freak incident of firing by a home guard before polling started in the Sheohar Lok Sabha seat.

A few incidents of malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines were reported from various booths, the officials said.

Altogether 1.38 crore voters would decide the fate of 127 candidates, including 16 women, across 13,973 polling stations.

Polling is currently underway "peacefully" in eight Lok Sabha constituencies of Valmikinagar, West Champaran, East Champaran, Sheohar, Vaishali, Gopalganj, Siwan and Maharajganj.

Voting, which began at 7 am, will end at 6 pm, except in three assembly constituencies of Minapur, Paroo and Sahebganj in the Vaishali Lok Sabha seat, and two assembly segments of Valmikinagar and Ramnagar in the Valmikinagar Lok Sabha constituency, ..