India election: 500 masked men with guns and machetes snatch voting machines

Officials ambushed as they carried polling equipment through jungle

Narendra Modi who exit polls suggest has been returned to power in elections (AFP)

Hundreds of masked men armed with guns and machetes have attacked a team of Indian election officials and stolen computerised voting machines, authorities have said.

The team was ambushed as they travelled through dense jungle to a polling station in the remote north eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, it was revealed on Wednesday

Some of the attackers opened fire but there were no casualties, police said.

"About 500 miscreants attacked our polling team and also resorted to firing although no one was injured," Sunil Garg, the state police inspector general, told Reuters.

India's mammoth election – said to be the biggest democratic exercise the world has ever seen – came to a close on Sunday after six weeks of largely peaceful voting.

But political parties opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's alliance have alleged tampering of voting machines, corruption and intimidation in isolated areas.

In once instant, an election agent was arrested in the northern city of Faridabad after being filmed appearing to tell multiple women how to vote.

The new attack occurred on Sunday as officials travelled to the hill-top Koloriang constituency to re-run the poll following allegations of severe malpractices during the first vote in April.

But despite the robbery, the new election still took place on Tuesday as planned after a new team of officials were sent with replacement machines, Inspector Garg said.

The Election Commission did not respond to a request by Reuters for comment.

All of the estimated 700m votes are now to be counted by Thursday, although exit polls have already suggested Mr Modi will be returned to power.