SPORADIC CLASHES REPORTED DURING SIXTH PHASE OF VOTING IN BENGAL

KOLKATA: Injuries to two people in police firing and stray incidents of violence marked the sixth phase of polling in West Bengal on Thursday that was largely peaceful across four districts and held amid an alarming spike in coronavirus infections in the state.

Polling was held for nine seats each in North Dinajpur and Nadia, 17 in North 24 Parganas, and eight in East Burdwan district. Provisional turnout stood at 79.09 %, comparatively lower than the polling percentage recorded in the first five phases.

At Bagda in North 24 Parganas, a mob allegedly attacked a state police team, injuring a constable and the officer-in-charge, EC officials said.

Injuries to two people in police firing and stray incidents of violence marked the sixth phase of polling in West Bengal on Thursday that was largely peaceful across four districts and held amid an alarming spike in coronavirus infections in the state.

Polling was held for nine seats each in North Dinajpur and Nadia, 17 in North 24 Parganas, and eight in East Burdwan district. Provisional turnout stood at 79.09 %, comparatively lower than the polling percentage recorded in the first five phases.

In the sixth phase, 306 candidates were in the fray.

“Polling was today conducted peacefully in 14,480 polling stations,” the election commission (EC) said in a statement. With the sixth phase, polling has been held now for 223 of 294 seats.

At Bagda in North 24 Parganas, a mob allegedly attacked a state police team, injuring a constable and the officer-in-charge of Bagda police station, EC officials said. When police fired three rounds to disperse the mob, two villagers suffered leg injuries. The incident triggered a slugfest between Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.

“Police opened fire on innocent villagers. Even the state police are now under the control of the EC,” said TMC spokesperson Snehasish Chakraborty.

“The attack on the state police was an outcome of the instigating speeches by chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Four men were killed at Sitalkuchi in north Bengal (on April 10) when central forces opened fire in self defence. Before that incident, Banerjee asked people to attack central forces,” said BJP state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar.

The state reported more than 10,000 infections on Wednesday and 11,948 on Thursday.