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Polling day violence| Victims shot in chest with intent to kill: Didi
Hours after voting began for the fourth phase on Saturday, four people were killed after Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel on election duty, allegedly under attack by a mob, opened fire in self defence in the district’s Sitalkuchi constituency, police and EC officials said.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Sunday the firing incident that killed four people in Cooch Behar was “genocide” and alleged that the Election Commission restricted the entry of politicians in the district for three days as it sought to “suppress facts”.
Hours after voting began for the fourth phase on Saturday, four people were killed after Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel on election duty, allegedly under attack by a mob, opened fire in self defence in the district’s Sitalkuchi constituency, police and EC officials said.
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Banerjee spoke to the families of the people killed in the firing over a video call at a press conference in Siliguri. “They are killing people using Central forces and giving clean cheat thereafter. This is genocide. I could not meet the families. I will meet them on April 14. I cannot be stopped.”
“They have fired directly at the chest or the neck. Why CISF has been deployed to control the public? They are not trained for that. CISF is trained specially for industrial security. Now to suppress the fact, they are stopping us to visit there. They ordered this 72 hours rule just to stop me from meeting those families. This is unprecedented,” she alleged.
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Banerjee said the Election Commission was working in the interest of just one party. “It (poll panel) is changing the well-established rules laid down for elections. I have great respect for the EC, but the recent developments make me sad,” she said.
Union home minister Amit Shah blamed Banerjee for the violence in Cooch Behar, saying that her appeal to the people to target security forces provoked the clash and attack on the central forces.
“This is a sad incident for all of us, but I want to know why these youngsters had to take this step, some days ago Didi held a meeting in Sitalkuchi assembly constituency, she had made an announcement and instigated youngsters and women to come forward and gherao CAPF.”
Read more: Mamata’s call to gherao forces behind violence, deaths: Amit Shah
Polling was held in 44 assembly constituencies of north and south Bengal on Saturday, with 135 of the total 294 now having voted in the four phases. The eight-phase election will end on April 29 and counting of votes with be held on May 2.
Following Saturday’s events, the ECI ordered that the “silence period” — when campaigning comes to a stop ahead of voting — be extended from 48 to 72 hours before the fifth phase of polling. This means campaigning for 45 constituencies that vote on April 17 will end on April 14, instead of April 15 earlier.
