Lynching of a polling agent of the Trinamul Congress (TMC) and a CPI-M worker in Katwa and Ausgram was reported during polling in East Burdwan wherein most of the ‘disturbed’ polling booths the Central forces and the state police either were ‘conspicuously’ absent or were outnumbered.
Gautam Roy (63) – an elderly polling agent was dragged out of the TMC polling booth at Nandigram under Sribati Panchayat in Katwa allegedly by the CPI-M cadre and was lynched. He was a retired government employee.
Rabindranath Chatterjee, district president of the TMC, alleged: “Gautam was resisting the Left-backed goons trying to loot ballot papers.”
Brother of the deceased lodged a complaint against the CPI-M candidate of the seat Harinarayan Samanta and a party worker. The police have quizzed the candidate.
However, CPI-M’s district secretary, Syed Hossen, denied the allegation saying the elderly person died of cardiac arrest after meals at home.
Meanwhile, a CPI-M worker, Razibul Haq (32), succumbed to his wounds at the SSKM Hospital on Saturday. He was allegedly thrashed by TMC supporters at Bishnupur village in Ausgram last evening.
Bishnupur Primary School in Ausgram-II where three polling booths are set up (No: 7, 7A, 8), recorded a clash between TMC and CPI-M cadres last evening. The trouble broke out when the CPI-M cadres went to inquire why the Central forces were not present to guard the booth. This irked the TMC members and they allegedly attacked the cadres with bamboo logs.
The left cadres also retaliated but Razibul suffered severe head injuries and succumbed to injuries at the SSKM Hospital, the police said. Two TMC supporters have been arrested on murder charge.
The absence of the Central forces triggered altercation, fierce clash and booth capturing in several villages across Galsi, Khandaghosh, Ausgram, Raina and Jamalpur blocks of East Burdwan.
At Mamudpur – 1 Panchayat in Monteswar, CPI-M candidate Sheikh Samshul was allegedly kidnapped by the TMC supporters and was severely thrashed. At around 11:50 am, he was rescued and was shifted to the Burdwan Medical College and Hospital. Two CPI-M candidates, Tapas Chakraborty and Jayanta Bag, along with Gautam Bose, husband of CPI-M candidate Uma Bose, were thrashed allegedly by TMC supporters led by Mona Roy at Sehara Panchayat in Raina – 1.
Bose alleged: “Local BJP leader Kashinath Patra was accompanying them. We were denied access to the polling booth.” They lodged a complaint.
At Bamunari village in neighbouring Khandaghosh, CPI-M candidate Khokon Sheikh was also beaten up in the presence of police.
In another incident, a CPI-M supporter, Mohammed Ghalib, while trying to intrude into a polling booth at Shyamadanga village in Khandaghosh in an inebriated condition, was thrashed by TMC supporters. At Dignagar – Panchayat, CPI-M cadre Matal Murmu was also thrashed and shifted to the hospital.
At Kurkuba in Galsi (booth No: 262) and at Sultanpur in Berugram Panchayat (No: 95) of Khandaghosh, where too Central Forces couldn’t be visible, masked TMC supporters allegedly looted ballots. The presiding officer suspended polling at Sultanpur.
The East Burdwan district administration, meanwhile, claimed that the district recorded 39.4 per cent polling till 1 pm.
Polling, meanwhile, was suspended at Mukshimpara in Purbasthali – 2 block due to faulty ballot papers. CPI-M’s symbol was printed wrongly against the name of Aduri Khatun, the TMC candidate, and TMC’s symbol was placed beside the name of CPI-M candidate Zulfikkar Begum.