Tuesday saw further electoral violence in West Bengal when a fight broke out between representatives of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) on the fourth day of the nomination process for the impending Panchayat elections.
During the altercation between the ruling TMC and ISF at Bhangar in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, several cars were vandalised and bombs were thrown in front of the police.
To disperse the throng and return to normalcy, the police resorted to use lathicharge and tear gas. A couple police officers were also hurt in the process.
Locals in the Bhangar village of Kathalia stated that numerous homemade bombs were discovered in three parked cars in a field. The ISF supporters smashed the vehicles.
The TMC leader Arabul Islam’s son and other individuals connected to the TMC, according to the ISF, were the owners of the four-wheelers. The TMC leader’s automobile allegedly contained bombs that were intended to be used during the election against members of the opposition party, according to the ISF.
News agencies found two live explosives in two different cars.
Young people riding motorcycles and brandishing arms were observed in great numbers. Additionally, some young boys were observed carrying bamboo and lathis. The claimed TMC employees are accused of throwing over 150 bombs at ISF leaders, and numerous areas have reported gunshot situations.
According to reports, the filing of nomination papers by Indian Secular Front (ISF) candidates caused Bhangar to turn into a battleground. Despite Section 144 being in effect, there were conflicts.
The ISF asserts that the TMC prevented party employees from delivering the nomination documents to a BDO office. Both sides asserted that some of their respective citizens had been hurt.
The TMC denied claims that its party members incited the violence while the ISF said that the police detained its members who had come to submit candidature papers.
The Jan Sanjog Yatra of Abhishek Banerjee was set to take place at Bhangar on Tuesday (13 June), and TMC MLA Shaukat Mollah stated that ISF was behind the violence.
