In a violent flip to the Assembly elections in West Bengal, 4 individuals, together with an 18-year-old, have been killed in firing by CISF personnel at a polling station in Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district the place voting was underway for the fourth section Saturday morning.
Police stated native residents stormed the polling station following rumours within the space and tried to grab weapons of the safety personnel who retaliated by opening hearth.
The useless have been recognized as Hamidul Mian (31), Monirujjaman Mian (28), Noor Alam Mian (20) and Samiul Haq (18), all from Jorpatki village. The first three have been migrant employees who had returned house to vote whereas the fourth labored at a cyber cafe within the village.
Four others, together with one with a bullet damage, are present process therapy on the Mathabhanga hospital.
In a separate incident in Sitalkuchi, a first-time voter, Anand Barman (18), was shot useless, allegedly by miscreants, when he queued as much as vote at a polling sales space in Pathantuli. The incident came about when supporters of the TMC and BJP clashed within the space.
Following the CISF firing incident, the Election Commission stopped the polling course of on the Jorpatki sales space and barred all political leaders from getting into Cooch Behar district for the subsequent 72 hours. It additionally prolonged the ‘silent period’ from 48 hours to 72 hours for the fifth section of voting on April 17.
Almost instantly after the incident, a political storm erupted.
The TMC claimed its supporters had been focused, and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah since central forces report back to him. Attacking Shah, she stated her authorities would institute a separate CID probe into the incident.
Before the EC barred the entry of all political leaders into Cooch Behar district, she had made plans to go to the incident web site Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, campaigning for the BJP in Siliguri, condemned the violence and referred to as for a radical probe. He criticised Banerjee, saying violence in opposition to safety personnel was not going to avoid wasting her from being voted out of energy.
Cooch Behar SP Debasish Dhar advised reporters: “Everything was fine until 9.30 am. One of the local boys took ill near the polling station. But a rumour spread that the CISF had beaten up the boy. Then 300-350 villagers, including women, attacked the polling station. They had handmade weapons… There was an attempt to snatch rifles.”
“The CISF personnel in the booth called the QRT (Quick Response Team) nearby for reinforcement. The people who had gathered there got into scuffles and fisticuffs with the CISF. There was an attempt to snatch rifles and enter the booth. It was then that the incident happened. The CISF resorted to firing,” Dhar stated.
DIG (Jalpaiguri vary) Annappa E, after visiting the spot, stated: “Primarily, it seems that the firing was done in self-defence. Mohammed Minal Haq, a 13 or 14-year-old boy, fell sick and lay on the ground. Security personnel went to him to enquire and took him to the hospital — he is alright now. Then a rumour spread that the boy had been shot dead by central forces. Hundreds of people came, there were fisticuffs and the incident took place. Total four persons died. Four others are in hospital including one who has a bullet wound on his thigh. One police personnel and two polling staff also received injuries.”
Asked whether or not warning pictures had been fired within the air, Annappa stated: “We will probe and send a detailed report. We will probe how the incident happened. But the personnel were less in number. We have learnt that there was an attempt to snatch rifles. The personnel somehow saved their firearms.”
The firing incident came about on the polling sales space in Amtali college in Jorpatki space of Sitalkuchi.
At 10.15 am, over 300 villagers together with ladies, confirmed up on the polling station and the college grounds, armed with sticks, sickles and bamboo poles. State police and CSF personnel posted contained in the sales space referred to as for reinforcements.
There was a scuffle and folks tried to enter and ransack the polling station. A constable and two polling personnel have been injured. Some of the villagers tried to grab the weapons from safety personnel following which the CISF personnel resorted to firing.
At Amtali college, Soffiuddin Mian, who claimed to be an eyewitness, stated: “We heard that a team of central forces beat up a boy. Everyone in the village got angry. Men and women all gathered at the polling station. There was pushing and shoving. A huge crowd gheraoed the central forces. I ran out of the school ground and then I heard gunshots. There are 950 voters in this booth, and I am one of them.”
Meanwhile, the Election Commission invoked its extraordinary powers beneath Article 324 to bar the entry of all political leaders into Cooch Behar district for 72 hours and extension of the ‘silent period’ from 48 hours to 72 hours for the fifth section on April 17.
These selections, it stated, have been obligatory to take care of regulation and order in Cooch Behar district and guarantee free and truthful election throughout the fifth section of voting. The state Chief Secretary and Director General of Police have been tasked to make sure strict compliance of EC’s order in “letter as well as in spirit”.
In its order, the Commission famous that the final rites of the 4 deceased individuals haven’t been accomplished, and any go to by political leaders to condole the bereaved “has the portent to cause a law and order problem of major proportions”.
“Whereas, since the firing happened in a confrontation with CISF, the chances of Central Forces deployed in this area becoming or being made the butt of further grave provocation by groups of people cannot also be ruled out..” the EC said.
The selections have been primarily based on a joint report submitted by the Commission’s particular observers Ajay Nayak and Vivek Dube. The officers had knowledgeable the EC that the recourse to open hearth by the CISF personnel was “absolutely necessary” to “save the lives of voters lined up at the polling booth, those of other polling personnel and their own lives as the mob had attempted snatching their weapons”.
The date of repoll for polling station 126 of Sitalkuchi seat, the place the violence occurred, shall be introduced by the EC in the end.