West Bengal panchayat polls: Calcutta HC orders deployment of central forces amid reports of violence

Ahead of panchayat polls, the Calcutta High Court on Thursday ordered the deployment of central forces across all districts in West Bengal. The HC directed the state election commission to request the Centre within 48 hours for the central forces. This comes amid several incidents of pre-poll violence in the state, during the process of filing nomination papers by the candidates.

Several incidents of violence have been reported in the last few days in West Bengal. Earlier in the day, cases of violence were reported in the South 24 Parganas and Birbhum. According to reports, one person was killed and two others were critical after being allegedly shot in North Dinajpur when they were on their way to file nominations for the panchayat polls.

CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim said they were supporters of the Left Front and the Congress, and the incident happened when they were going to the Chopra block office for filing nominations. After being shot, the three persons were taken to the district hospital where one of them died during treatment. The conditions of the other two persons were critical.

BJP's Suvendu Adhikari has been sharing reports of attacks on opposition candidates. In a tweet on Tuesday, he said the BDO offices were not safe for Opposition candidates who were going there for filing nominations. "The people of WB are watching in horror, how the Opposition candidates are being forcefully prevented by the TMC goons from filing nomination papers."

On Tuesday, he said, advocate Priyanka Tibrewal and BJP leader Sajal Ghosh were accompanying party candidates who were going for filing nominations. "The "Bhaipo Bahini" of the South 24 Parganas district who are on a rampage, attacked them. Our Candidates, Supporters & Leaders including Smt Priyanka Tibrewal and Shri Sajal Ghosh got hurt in this violent attack in front of the Police."

"The lame duck WB State Election Commission announced that prohibitory orders & Section 144 would be in force around Nomination Centres. But the Police have given a free hand to the TMC goons, who are hurling bombs and firing bullets at will near the Nomination Centres," he said in a tweet, adding that "this is how the State Election Commission wants to conduct the election process".

The BJP leader said that the state commission wanted to appease their political masters at any cost, even at the cost of bloodbaths and deaths of political workers, candidates, supporters, and voters. "Conducting the upcoming Panchayat Elections without the deployment of Central Forces would be the ultimate mockery of Democracy."

Polling for nearly 75,000 panchayat seats will be held on July 8.