KOLKATA: An inspector in charge of a police station was seriously injured after alleged Trinamool Congress-backed agitators hurled bricks at policemen during protests against Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearings in North Dinajpur on Thursday, a day after a block development officer (BDO) office was ransacked in Murshidabad’s Farakka.
In the Chakulia area of North Dinajpur, a group of agitators allegedly attacked police personnel, leaving the inspector in charge of Chakulia police station with severe head injuries. He was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment.
Opposition parties BJP and CPI M alleged that ruling Trinamool Congress backed agitators were involved in both incidents.
Expressing serious concern over the violence, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has sought a detailed report on the Chakulia incident from West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal.
The Commission has also directed the district magistrate of North Dinajpur, who is also the district electoral officer (DEO), to lodge FIRs against those responsible for creating violence in the area.
The trouble began when residents of the Kahata area in Chakulia blocked a state highway near the BDO office to protest against the alleged harassment of common citizens who are being asked to appear at SIR hearings conducted by the ECI. When police reached the spot to clear the blockade, the situation allegedly turned violent.
The mob hurled bricks at the policemen and damaged the nearby BDO office, allegedly setting parts of it on fire. Furniture and SIR related documents stored inside the office were also damaged.
During the attack, the inspector in charge sustained a severe head injury and was left bleeding profusely. He was immediately taken to hospital.
The district police administration sounded a high alert and asked nearby police stations to send additional forces to the spot as the situation went virtually out of control. Police resorted to a lathi charge and fired teargas shells to disperse the mob.
Political analysts said Thursday’s incident in Chakulia was the worst protest organised so far against the SIR exercise in the state. However, it was not yet confirmed whether the ruling party in the state was directly involved in the violence.
Trinamool Congress leader Jaiprakash Majumder accused the BJP of being behind the Chakulia incident. He told the media, “This type of violent situation erupted because people fear that the SIR process may remove their names from the electoral rolls and they may be sent to detention camps.”
The violence followed an incident on Wednesday at the BDO office in Murshidabad’s Farakka, where protests erupted over the alleged harassment of voters because of the contentious SIR and the “bias” in the exercise itself.
The BDO office witnessed protests by at least 100 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), who had submitted their resignations earlier in the day.
Amid the demonstrations by these BLOs and some aggrieved residents in front of the office, a group of Trinamool Congress supporters led by MLA Manirul Islam stormed into the building, which also houses a designated SIR hearing centre. The group damaged furniture and scattered files.
Of the around 200 BLOs in Farakka, nearly 100 submitted their resignations to electoral registration officer Sanjit Mandal, stating that the “arbitrary, frequently changing instructions” of the Election Commission had made their work “unmanageable”.
The unrest unfolded even as hearings to address logical discrepancies in voter data flagged by the Election Commission continued, turning the electoral roll revision exercise into a growing test of public patience.
