Two more deaths in connection with the July 8 panchayat elections were reported in two districts in West Bengal over the past nine hours, taking the toll to 17. Body of Dilip Nahra, whose wife Chobi Nahara is an independent candidate, was recovered early morning on Thursday, July 6, near a pond at Serenda area in Birbhum district's Mohammad Bazar locality.
Chobi Nahara claimed that her husband was the victim of political vengeance as she was contesting as an independent candidate. She also held close associates of Trinamool Congress's Birbhum district joint convener Kali Prasad Bandopadhyay responsible for the murder. Bandopadhyay, however, rubbished the allegations and said that the local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership was trying to unnecessarily malign the ruling party over the unfortunate incident.
Late on Wednesday night, a man was killed in a crude bomb blast at Beldanga in Murshidabad district. The victim has been identified as Kamal Sheikh (30), resident of Maheshpur area under Beldanga police station. Local police sources said that ingredients for manufacturing of crude bombs were recovered from near his body, which makes the suspicion deeper that the blast took place while the manufacturing of crude bombs was on.
Meanwhile, a slugfest has erupted over the political affiliation of the victim. While Trinamool Congress has claimed that Kamal Sheikh was a dedicated Congress worker, the district Congress leadership has denied the allegations.
Incidentally, the campaigning for the panchayat polls is scheduled to end on Thursday afternoon. With so many casualties already reported in the pre-poll phase, apprehensions are becoming deeper regarding the extent of violence on the polling day of July 8 as well as in the post-election phase.
On Tuesday, state Director General of Police Manoj Malviya described the incidents of violence and clashes as sporadic. “Stray incidents of violence and clashes are being blown out of proportion and projected in a big way. There had been a couple of incidents, where the police had taken prompt action. We are working as per guidelines. The situation is well under control and incidents of violence have come down. The media is projecting minor incidents as major ones. This is not done,” Malviya said.
