In a spine-chilling reminder of the 1970s, violence gripped a large part of Bengal that would go to polls on Monday. Opposition leaders and workers were chased, attacked, their houses looted, voters ID card snatched even as bike-borne armed Trinamool Congress goons ploughed constituencies after constituencies defying the Election Commission directive and threatening voters against going to vote even as the police watched a silent spectator.
In several places in North Kolkata, disgruntled Central forces jawans told this correspondent that they had nothing to do as they were being restrained by the police officers. “Tackling these people is a matter of two minutes for us. But what to do your own officers are restraining us. We are made to stand and watch,” said a CISF jawan at Kasipur in North Kolkata.
At least 50 people were injured in incidents of attack and ransacking throughout Barrackpore, North Kolkata, Dum Dum, Jadavpur and Behrampore constituencies, sources said even as the police refused to provide details.
Such was the situation that the police observer Indu Kumar Bhushan was gheraoed at Behrampore by the Trinamool men when he tried to stop a motorbike rally and released when he apologised to them with folded hands. The police did the precious little by lodging an FIR.
Curiously Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was likely to be harmed the most from any adverse mandate, was also handling the Home portfolio.
Same Behrampore saw junior Railway Minister Adhir Chowdhury’s cavalcade being blocked by the Trinamool men and the Congress supporters beating up Trinamool candidate Indranil Sen in a retaliatory attack.
Soon after Chowdhury predicted “there will be no poll tomorrow, only violence if the Commission does not take strong action on erring officials.”
At Barrackpore, BJP candidate RK Handa was manhandled and his car damaged leading the BJP to lodge a complaint with the Commission. BJP workers were also attacked down south in Jadavpur-Sonarpur area. Pratap Manna, a BJP man was tied up with a lamp post and beaten black and blue in full view of the public.
But most brutal attacks came down on the left leaders and workers. First incident was reported from Belghoria were seven people including CPI(M) State committee member Sayandeb Mitra were brutally beaten up on Saturday night by a Trinamool gang. Three of them were undergoing treatment with severe injuries in a hospital, State party secretary Biman Bose said.
Trinamool goons attacked the left workers when they blockaded Kasipore crossing protesting Belghoria attacks. Nearby, a local CPI(M) leader was beaten up with rods and was undergoing treatment with broken limbs at Calcutta Medical College. When a police team led by Assistant Commissioner Ziur Rehman went to arrest the culprits, he was heckled by them and had to beat a hasty retreat.
It took several hours for Kolkata Police Commissioner S Karpurakayastha to visit the place, that too after he was directed to do so by Special Observer SK Rakesh. Surprisingly, though the State had adequate number of central forces, the local police administration was making them either sit idle or taking them around in peaceful areas for route march, locals complained. “We do not have any idea of the local areas, if the local police do not take us at the place of occurrence what can we doIJ This is disgusting. Bengal administration is worse of them all,” said a Central forces officer to this correspondent.
Night-long attacks were launched at Barackpore, Beleghata, Khardaha, Narkeldanga, Halisahara, Bijpur and were likely to multiply on Monday, Biman Bose said adding the attacks were more intense in areas where the Trinamool was facing defeat. The EC, meanwhile, had appointed 17 more Special Observers. Whether they turn out to be paper tigers remained to be seen, Opposition parties said.