Sporadic violence during Bengal civic polls, one dead

 Kolkata, April 25: One person was shot dead and another received bullet injuries in West Bengal during polling for 91 civic bodies on Saturday.

The voter turnout in the first three hours was over 20 percent, an official said.

While one person - Indrajit Singh - said to be a Trimool Congress activist, was shot dead at Katwa in Burdwan, another suffered bullet injuries in North 24 Pargas district.

“He (Singh) was shot dead by unidentified miscreants. We have sought a report on the incident, senior police officials are at the spot and we are taking all measures to preserve peace and security,” Burdwan district magistrate Saumitra Mohan said.

“Till 10 am over 20 percent of polling was reported. We have received reports of violent incidents from several districts and looking into it. There have been reports of bullets been fired in North 24 Pargas, we are looking into all aspects,” a state election commission official said.

In North 24-Pargas’ Titagarh, a voter was allegedly shot in his leg while Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Govind Pal alleged that Trimool miscreants fired bullets at him but he escaped unhurt.

Bharatiya Jata Party (BJP) MP from Darjeeling S.S. Ahluwalia alleged that several party candidates contesting for the Siliguri Municipality polls and activists were assaulted by Trimool goons.

“Since midnight, our people have come under intense attack by Trimool goons. Our candidates have been beaten up, party activists and polling agent been assaulted. There is a reign of terror unleashed by Trimool,” said Ahluwalia.

Around 74 lakh people will cast their votes to decide the fate of 7,636 candidates contesting for 1,946 wards of the 91 municipal bodies — one Notified Area, two Municipal Corporations (Siliguri and Chandangar) and 88 municipalities — spread across north and south Bengal.

Of 8,756 polling stations, 2,318 have been identified as sensitive and 2,142 as hypersensitive by the poll panel. Besides a large number police personnel, 35 companies of central forces have been deployed for the polls.