Bengal Panchayat polls: Miscreants torch police vehicle; 12 deaths reported

The voting day for Panchayat polls in West Bengal saw violence spiral in several districts despite heavy security deployment, with all parties levelling allegations against each other.

At least 12 people lost their lives in separate incidents, of which eight were supporters of the ruling Trinamool Congress, according to a PTI report.

In Murshidabad, miscreants torched a police vehicle in the evening after the voting got over.

A polling booth in Malda’s Mahadipur area saw a miscreant running away with the ballot box while, in Dinhata, a ballot box was set on fire allegedly by voters who were angry over bogus voting. The polling was suspended at Indreshwar primary school in Dinhata after water was thrown into the ballot box.

“In Mamata Banerjee’s government, we are seeing youth running with a ballot box, and miscreants are roaming around with bombs in their hands. Violence is taking place at polling booths. Who is behind this violence? Who is responsible for this? Mamata govt and CM Mamta Banerjee should answer this,” Union minister Prahlad Patel said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blamed State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha for poll-related deaths and shot off a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah demanding his “intervention” in restoring democracy in the state.

In the letter signed by BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, it was claimed “15 political deaths occurred just on the day of poll,” as booth capturing, rigging and fake voting were seen across all the districts.”

Opposition parties in the state also alleged that even central forces were not properly deployed to prevent violence.

The ruling Trinamool Congress, however, accused the opposition of orchestrating violence and criticised the central forces for their failure to protect the voters.

Bengal has a history of violence during the three-tier panchayat polls. The 2003 panchayat polls gained notoriety for its death toll of 76, with more than 40 killed on the day of the elections. The 2013 rural polls, held under the supervision of central forces, recorded a casualty figure of 39. While the last panchayat poll held under the supervision of the state police recorded a death toll for the election process period of 30.

The results of this year’s panchayat polls are scheduled to be announced on July 11.