A BJP team led by Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi met the West Bengal Chief Election Officer (CEO) on Sunday to demand action against officers who stopped the car of party candidate Bharati Ghosh on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Naqvi said the party has also demanded that outsiders are not allowed in Lok Sabha constituencies of the state.
“Our candidate Bharati Ghosh’s car was stopped. We have demanded action against the officers involved,” he said.
“We have demanded that outsiders be not allowed in Lok Sabha constituencies, 48 hours before the elections, and that history-sheeters be arrested,” Naqvi added.
Ghosh, a former IPS officer and now the BJP candidate from Ghatal, was detained for almost three hours by the police after they seized Rs 1.13 lakh from her vehicle late on Thursday night.
Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Phase 6
Reports said the former IPS officer was travelling in a car that was intercepted at Mangal Bar in Pingla area in West Midnapore district around 11 pm.
“Cash amounting to Rs 1,13,815 was seized from Ghosh’s vehicle. We had information that Ghosh was carrying the cash. There were also other people in her vehicle. She could not explain why she was carrying the money. We are looking into the matter,” a police officer told PTI.
Trinamool Congress leaders alleged that Ghosh was carrying the money to “influence voters”.
The Election Commission sought a report from the District Magistrate over Ghosh’s detention.
Earlier today, vehicles in Ghosh’s convoy were vandalised even as polling was on in Ghatal constituency.
Read More: Poll violence hits West Bengal once again, Bharati Ghosh’s convoy attacked
She was also heckled allegedly by TMC women workers at two polling stations. In Ghatal, Ghosh is up against TMC’s Deepak Adhikari, a Tollywood film actor popularly known as Deb.
Incidents of violence marred the sixth phase of elections in West Bengal, which continued its infamy of being the only state to have recorded poll violence in every phase held so far.
A BJP activist was killed in Jhargram district and two BJP workers were injured after they were shot at in East Midnapore’s Bhagavanpur on Saturday night.
The car of sitting BJP lawmaker from Asansol, Babul Supriyo, was damaged allegedly by TMC workers in his own constituency in the fourth phase of the elections on 29 April.