Post panchayat polls, West Bengal tense, toll rises to 15

Security personnel stand guard outside a strong room where ballot boxes are kept, in Krishnanagar, on Sunday. Pic/PTI

The toll in the violence during panchayat elections in West Bengal rose to 15 after a person was found dead in South 24 Parganas, and two others succumbed to their injuries, officials said on Sunday.

A person, identified as Abu Salem Khan, was found dead near a polling booth in West Gabtala in Kultali police station area. He had injuries on his head, they said. He was known to be a TMC worker in the area, locals said. Police said they are probing the cause of the death.

Tension was palpable in the area, and a large police contingent was deployed to prevent any further flare-up.

Among the 15 deceased, 11 were from the ruling TMC and one supporter each of the BJP, CPI(M) and Congress.

Protests were held in different parts of the state on Sunday against the violence and over allegations of irregularities in the polls.

Tamas Dinda, a leader of the BJP's youth wing in Tamluk, alleged that ballot boxes were changed. He demanded re-election in the area and counting of votes at the booth itself.

The BJP alleged that central forces were "deliberately" not deployed at all booths, as ordered by the high court. BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh alleged that instead of deploying the forces in the polling booths, they were made to patrol highways or were kept at police stations. "Even where they were deployed, that was done only after the violence and looting of votes," he said.

TMC said there was no guarantee that violence would not have happened if the forces were deployed. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh alleged that four people were killed in firing by central forces in Cooch Behar during the 2021 Assembly polls.

11
No. of TMC workers among the dead

‘Goons stopped us from voting'

People in large numbers in New Town have claimed that they were not allowed to vote. Samir Gupta, the secretary of New Town Citizen's Welfare Fraternity, said, "The centre was barricaded, and no one was allowed to enter the booth to vote. Miscreants came in buses with bombs and pistols, and drove us away." A 75-year-old retired academician said, "The people outside the centre told us that our votes have been polled."

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