Kolkata: The Election Commission has directed the office of the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to monitor the situation in West Bengal to prevent post-poll violence.
In this regard, the CEO’s office held a virtual meeting with the District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police on Thursday. Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agrawal gave this message to the officers.
After the end of the second and final phase of the Assembly elections on Wednesday, reports of sporadic political clashes have come from various districts of the state.
Seeing this, a source at the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said the Commission has taken proactive steps.
According to Commission officials, the police had arrested about two thousand ‘miscreants’ as a precautionary measure before the first phase of the current Assembly elections. Almost the same number of ‘miscreants’ were arrested before the second phase as well.
Those arrested individuals used to create an atmosphere of fear in several areas during the past elections.
As a result of this step by the Commission, the polling has become largely peaceful. However, if they come out on bail, there is a risk of fresh unrest.
Therefore, it was decided to monitor the situation in the state to prevent post-poll violence in the run-up to the vote counting on May 4.
It may be noted that following the 2021 Assembly elections, allegations of post-poll violence surfaced in various districts of the state, including Kolkata.
About 1,979 complaints of various crimes, including murder, rape, and arson, were filed in the Calcutta High Court.
On the orders of the High Court, the National Human Rights Commission had prepared a report after investigating the ‘post-poll violence’.
The High Court sought the state’s response on the matter.
A Central Bureau of Investigation investigation was also ordered in some cases, such as murder and rape.
Various cases of post-poll violence are still pending in various courts.
(IANS)
