Violence mars village council polls

At least four people were killed on Wednesday after rival parties contesting local elections in West Bengal's countryside threw crude bombs, fired guns and set fire to a village, police said. The communist-run state is holding an election for the running of the network of village councils. There are 20 seats under Basanti village council and all seats belong to the CPI (M). In another incident, violence also erupted in Howrah district, killing one person in Domjur region of the district.