Isolated incidents of violence, road blockades, bombings and police firing marred the second phase of polling at a few places in the three Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal with 76 percent of voter turnout till 6 pm on Thursday, 18 April, officials said.
It is Raiganj which reported the maximum incidents of violence from its Chopra and Islampur areas.
CPI(M) candidate from Raiganj, Md Salim claimed that his car was attacked by unknown persons when he went to a polling booth at Islampur. “I got to know of rigging in that booth. After I reached the polling station, some people attacked my car. Though I am unhurt, the vehicle has been damaged. I believe the Trinamool Congress is behind the incident,” Salim alleged.
Special Police Observer Vivek Dubey, however, described the voting as "more or less peaceful" with a few isolated incidents reported from places in the three seats.
EVM Vandalised in WB’s Chopra, Police Uses Tear Gas
Voters of Chopra put up a road blockade in protest against absence of central forces at the polling stations, an official said.
Police fired in the air and burst tear gas shells to control a mob, who threw stones at them. Bombs were also hurled by unknown miscreants in Chopra, a senior EC official in the district said.
"We are scared for our lives. We have no confidence in the state police and want immediate deployment of central forces here," a voter of Hemtabad (SC) assembly segment under the Raiganj Lok Sabha constituency, said.
Later, voters in the area were escorted by security personnel to their respective pollings stations to cast their votes, the EC official said.
A reporter and a camera person of a local news channel were allegedly manhandled when they went to cover polling at Kataphulbari in the Raiganj constituency.
Dubey said, "Small incidents will always occur but there is no big incident."
Special Observer for West Bengal Ajay V Nayak also echoed Dubey's views.
Meanwhile, in another incident, 22-year-old BJP Yuva Morcha member Sisupal Sahis was found hanging from a tree in Senabana village of Arsha (Purulia) on Thursday. Police have started an investigation into the matter.
EC Removes Presiding Officer As Voters Use Mobile Phones
The EC removed presiding officer of a booth at Kalimpong government junior school where Jan Andolan Party (JAP) president Harka Bahadur Chettri was seen casting his vote while talking in his mobile phone.
According to rules, mobile phones are not allowed within 100 metre of a polling booth.
"I had no knowledge that mobile phones were not allowed inside and nobody even told me about it. That's why I entered the booth while talking over the phone. Had I known I would have deposited the phone to the security officers before entering," Chettri said.
The EC has deployed 194 companies of central forces to cover 80 percent of the over 5,000 booths in the three Lok Sabha seats.
The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and the BJP are the main contenders in the three seats which will see a four-cornered contest between the two parties, the Congress and the Left Front.
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