Isolated incidents of violence including police firing was reported in the sixth phase of polling in West Bengal on 43 Assembly seats across four districts of the State on Thursday. The State recorded high polling with about 79.09% voters exercising their franchise by 5 pm. Nadia district recorded 82.67% polling followed by Purba Bardhaman which registered 82.15% polling. The polling figures are expected to rise.
Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal Aariz Aftab said that police had fired three rounds after the Officer in Charge of Bagda Police Station and Constable suffered sharp cut injuries in an attack by a group of 200 to 250 locals. The police personnel have been admitted to a hospital. The OC and police forces were rushed to the area in the North 24 Parganas district after the Sector Officer was attacked by locals, the CEO said. Mr Aftab said that at least one person sustained bullet injuries. The locals said that they were fired upon without any provocation.
In another incident miscreants lobbed crude bombs near a polling booth in Khardah in the same district and three person sustained injuries in the incident. Two persons were arrested in connection with the incident. According to the CEO polling was largely peaceful today except these two incidents of violence.
Elections was held on 14,480 polling booths in 43 Assembly constituencies which included 17 in North 24 parganas, nine each in Nadia and Uttar Dinajpur districts and eight in Purba Bardhaman district.
The Barrackpore industrial region that went to polls in North 24 Parganas reported violence. Crude bombs were lobbed at Jagatdal minutes after polling was over in the evening. Earlier in the day there was violence in Amdanga in the same district. The situation was volatile in Kanchrapara in the same district where BJP and TMC supporters clashed with each other. The BJP supporters attacked the makeshift offices of Trinamool Congress. A Trinamool Congress supporter was beaten up in Kanchrapara. Two Trinamool Congress candidates Raj Chakraborty from Barrackpore and Kaushani Mukherjee the candidate from Krishnanagar Uttar were surrounded by BJP supporters who raised “go back “ slogans.
The situation in Ketugram in Purba Bardhaman district turned volatile when the vehicle of the BJP candidate was attacked. There was also some unrest in Kaliaganj in Uttar Dinajpur district when woman supporters surrounded a police vehicle when the police tried to arrest a miscreant. Earlier in the day an unidentified body was found at Habra Assembly segment which went to polls today. A Trinamool Congress councilor was attacked at Bijpur Assembly segment in the day.
With the polling in the sixth phase over on Thursday, two more phases of polling are left in the State. The seventh phase of polling is scheduled on April 26 where 36 Assembly constituencies will go for polls and the last phase is on April 29 where 35 Assembly constituencies will go polls.