Bengal polls 2016: Violence rocks Birbhum district after election gets over

Panrui (West Bengal), April 18: Violence continued to rock Birbhum district even after elections got over in the South Bengal district on Sunday (April 17).

Assembly Polls 2016 Full Coverage; 79.70% turnout in Phase 2

The night after the polls saw firing and bombing, leading to the suspension of local officer-in-charge Debabrata Sinha by District Police Superintendent Sabyasachi Raman Mishra. He was suspended on charges of failing to protect the law and order situation.

Birbhum district Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Anubrata Mandal, who was kept under vigilance by the Election Commission (EC) in this election with limited success, had warned the Opposition of violence ahead of the election and it started as soon as the election got over. Mandal, however, blamed the CPI(M) for the violence, saying the first attack was made by it. "Will we just face the music," he asked.

The Opposition has found a link between Mandal's warning and the clashes that occurred on Sunday night.

Eleven seats in Birbhum district went to polls on Sunday with Mandal confidently claiming that the ruling party would win all of them. The TMC has six of the 11 seats at the moment.

Mandal courted controversy on Sunday after entering the polling booth wearing the party badge to cast his ballot. When asked, he said he overlooked the matter but refused to apologise.

The BJP later approached the EC seeking cancellation of polling in all the constituencies in the district.

Oneindia News