Poll violence continues to rock Kolkata

KOLKATA/KRISHNAGORE: Pre-poll violence that erupted in different parts of Kolkata since Thursday night kept the city on edge.


Barely 36 hours before the city goes to polls, Kolkata witnessed yet another political clash — this time in the Rajdanga area in Kasba — with BJP alleging that one of its supporters was severely injured by a Trinamool gang.

Trinamool has countered that BJP had attacked their party workers first. A case and a counter case have been registered.

According to BJP, their party worker Siddhartha Halder was returning home after campaigning on Thursday when around 25 people surrounded him and started to hit him with sticks and rods. On the other hand, local Trinamool leaders said that their men were chatting at Rajdanga when some BJP supporters suddenly started to use obscene language against Trinamool and ended up assaulting them. According to Trinamool men, Haldar was injured in an accident.

In the other incident, BJP and the Left Front have moved the EC complaining against Trinamool vandalism in Dum Dum. Vehicles of Mukul Roy and BJP’s candidate Samik Bhattacharya were allegedly vandalised in Nagerbazar on Thursday night. The attack took place when Bhattacharya and Roy were not at the spot. Roy said he would file a complaint with the police.

Trinamool had claimed that their workers were protesting against the two leaders for campaigning post the time stipulated by the EC. CPM leader Rabin Deb said, “A local leader had gone to attend a family function.” Trinamool alleged that Roy and CPM leader Poltu Dasgupta were using the family function as a pretext to campaign and exchange money.

According to BJP, their party worker Siddhartha Halder was returning home after campaigning on Thursday when around 25 people surrounded him and started to hit him with sticks and rods. On the other hand, local Trinamool leaders said that their men were chatting at Rajdanga when some BJP supporters suddenly started to use obscene language against Trinamool and ended up assaulting them. According to Trinamool men, Haldar was injured in an accident.