PROTESTS were held in different parts of West Bengal on Sunday against the violence that rocked the panchayat elections and over allegations of irregularities. The toll in the violence rose to 15 after a person was found dead in South 24 Parganas, and two others succumbed to their injuries, officials said. BJP supporters staged a demonstration outside the State Election Commission office in Kolkata. Security was beefed up in the area as the protesters shouted slogans against the SEC over the alleged “inability” of the poll panel to conduct the elections peacefully. In Purba Medinipur district, BJP workers blocked the Haldia-Mecheda state highway at Nandakumar alleging that ballot boxes were being tampered with at the counting centre at Srikrishnapur High School. “We received information around 3 am that the ballot boxes were being changed. We are demanding repolling at all the booths in the area under the protection of central forces, besides counting of votes at the booths itself,” said Tamas Dinda, a leader of the BJP’s youth wing in Tamluk. As the situation escalated, police baton-charged the protesters to bring the situation under control, officer-in-charge of Nandakumar police station Manoj Kumar Jha told PTI. Congress workers blocked the National Highway 12 in Rathbari area in Malda, protesting against the violence during polling on Saturday.

 

“We have hit the streets in protest against Saturday’s violence. We will also go to the court against it,” Congress MP Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury said. In the district’s Harishchandrapur area, a police vehicle was vandalised with stones being hurled at it on Saturday night. Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Bipul Banerjee was returning home in the vehicle when the incident happened, officials said. He was injured in the attack, and undergoing treatment at the Malda Medical College and Hospital, they said. It is suspected that miscreants from Bihar, just across the inter-state border, are behind the incident, they said, adding that an investigation was underway. In Uttar Dinajpur, two cars were set on fire, and several vehicles, including a state-run bus, were vandalised as the protests turned violent in the Chakulia police station area.

 

The incident happened on the Rampur-Chakulia Road and National Highway 31 in the morning. The demonstrators said they were unable to vote during the polls due to intimidation, and repeated calls to the administration went in vain. Congress workers held similar protests in Murshidabad district’s Beldanga, alleging that supporters of the ruling TMC indulged in intimidation of voters and false voting with impunity during the polls. Violence was also reported from the district’s Samserganj area where two groups clashed with crude bombs. At Amdanga in North 24 Parganas, clashes broke out between ISF and TMC supporters. Indiscriminate crude bombs were hurled during the clashes, which happened in Sashipore in Chandigarh panchayat area. In South 24 Parganas district, three police personnel were injured while trying to control a clash between TMC and Congress supporters.

 

The incident happened in Nainan in Magrahat police station area, police said. Stopped from exercising franchise in rural polls, allege voters in Kolkata’s New Town: VOTERS in large numbers in New Town on Kolkata’s northern fringes have claimed that they were not allowed to exercise their franchise in the WB panchayat elections, as “goons” stopped them from entering polling booths in the area. Affected and injured polling staff will be compensated: Bengal election commission: THE presiding officers, polling officers and other staff affected or injured in the election related violation during the panchayat elections in West Bengal will be compensated, the State Election Commission has announced.