Cooch Behar (West Bengal): On April 10, 2021, during the fourth round of the Assembly Election, five people were killed in poll-related violence in Sitalkuchi, Cooch Behar, four of whom were shot by central forces. This political uproar led to greater voter polarization. Cooch Behar elections have frequently been marked by violence.
This time around, there have been at least three political activists from the districts slain and numerous others injured in violence related to the Panchayat Poll. Nearly 928 seats in 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat samitis, and 63,229 gramme panchayats are currently in the polls. Numerous reports of extensive violence have come in from all around Bengal since the day the elections were announced on June 8. A teen is among the fifteen people who have passed away.
“Five persons perished in the most recent Assembly election. This time, we have been hearing bomb explosions for more than a month. Ajit Roy, a resident of Sitalkuchi, said, “If we go to vote, they come to kill us, and if we don’t vote, we suffer the repercussions.
“Fear surfaces when it comes to voting. You can never predict when a gun will be discharged. Since I was a child, Sitalkuchi has been my home. The unrest hasn’t subsided since 2018 either. I won’t cast my ballot until everything is calm. What does life have worth? stated a different Shyamali Barman from the area.
C.V. Ananda Bose, the governor of West Bengal, met with the relatives of two BJP activists who lost their lives in the violence related to the election last week while visiting the conflict-affected districts of Dinhata in the Cooch Behar district. Even after the Panchayat election campaign was done, three BJP volunteers were shot, despite the governor’s presence.
The Panchayat Pradhan’s husband and a senior member of the Trinamool Congress, Mafuzar Rahman, was brutally attacked, leaving the entire hamlet in a state of panic. Rahman’s condition is still critical as a result of the vicious mob attack. The Trinamool Congress has historically held sway in the area, thus this occurrence has had a big effect there.