The recent instances of violence in West Bengal -- deaths of police officer Tapas Choudhury and SFI member Sudipta Gupta, and the massacre in Presidency university -- have come as a boon to the state election commission (SEC).
Locked in a legal battle with the state government over providing Central forces during the coming panchayat polls, the commission has used the instances to strengthen its argument on the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
On Tuesday, the SEC filed an affidavit in response to one filed by the state government, stating that the police had failed to stem the violence in the three cases.
Policemen hold black badge protest
A section of policemen in Burdwan district wore black badges on Tuesday to protest against the attack on finance minister Amit Mitra and heckling of CM Mamata Banerjee in Delhi. The members of West Bengal Police Association carried out a similar protest in Writers’ Buildings on April 12.