Hyderabad: Tension continues to simmer in West Bengal in the run-up to the Panchayat Polls slated on July 8 with reports of recovery of seven bags full of crude bombs emerging from South 24 Parganas' Bhangar, which has seen three consecutive days of unabated violence.
Taking serious note of the incident, West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose rushed to the spot Paraganas to take stock of the situation on ground zero. The recovery of crude bombs amid Calcutta High Court's direction to deploy central forces has given ammo to the opposition BJP which has been targeting the ruling Trinamool Congress government. The bomb squad have reached the location for further examination. Meanwhile, the West Bengal government on Friday filed a review petition in the Calcutta High Court against the deployment of Central Forces in all districts of the state for panchayat polls.
Talking to reporters, Bose promised stringent action against those involved in the act of violence. "The urgent situation needs an urgent measure. It's time for action, not words," Basu said. In Bhangar, the Governor visited Bhangar College and interacted with administrative officials and gave a patient hearing to the complaints of ISF workers, who complained about violence from TMC cadres, who, they said, obstructed ISF candidates from filing nominations despite hurling bombs at ISF supporters.
With two more deaths being reported in the past 12 hours, the total fatalities in the Bengal panchayat poll-related violence rose to five on Friday. Late on Thursday night, Trinamool Congress's local area secretary Mohammed Haque was killed in Nabagram in Murshidabad district of the state. Confirming the incident, the district police superintendent of Murshidabad Surinder Singh said that the police have started an investigation into the matter. Amid heightened tension in Nabagram, a huge police contingent has been deployed. Besides, an All India Secular Front (AISF) activist Selim Mollah, who had suffered bullet injuries following day-long nomination-related clashes at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district on Thursday, the last day for filing nominations, succumbed to his injuries on Thursday night. Earlier in the day, one AISF candidate and one Trinamool Congress activist were killed in inter-party clashes during the nomination phase on Thursday at Bhangar.
