Crude bombs hurled, reserve EVM thrown into water: Violence breaks out amid voting in Bengal
PTC Web Desk: The voting process was disrupted when a furious mob broke into polling places in the Kultali district of Sourth 24 Parganas, West Bengal, and threw an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) into a nearby pond.
The unrest broke out after certain polling agents were reportedly barred from entering the booths. This exclusion enraged the locals, who then forced their way into the stations, forcibly seized the EVM equipped with Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), and discarded it into a water body.
In a separate incident, tensions rose in the Satuliya area of Bhangar, which is part of Kolkata's Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency. The morning saw a surge of violence, with reports of attacks on workers and supporters of the Indian Secular Front (ISF) and the CPI(M). The clash injured several ISF members, and the situation was made worse by the presence of country-made bombs on the scene.
Releasing a statement, the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal said, "Today morning at 6.40 am Reserve EVMs & papers of Sector Officer near Benimadhavpur FP school, at 129-Kultali AC of 19-Jaynagar (SC) PC has been looted by local mob and 1 CU, 1 BU , 2VVPAT machines have been thrown inside a pond...FIR has been lodged by Sector Officer and necessary action has been initiated. Poll process in all six booths under the Sector is running uninterrupted. Fresh EVM and papers have been provided to the Sector Officer."
- PTC NEWS
