West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday promised that her government will track and take action against those responsible for the death of five people in Sitalkuchi of Cooch Behar district during the fourth phase of elections, PTI reported.
On April 10, four persons were killed in Sitalkuchi after central security forces opened fire at a polling booth, following a clash with locals. In a separate incident, another person was shot dead after he was dragged outside a polling booth.
On Wednesday, Banerjee visited Sitalkuchi to meet family members of the deceased. Her visit came hours after the end of the Election Commission’s ban on the chief minister from campaigning for 24 hours. She was barred from campaigning for violating the Model Code of Conduct by allegedly asking voters to attack central security forces and for appealing to Muslims to vote against the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Following the firing incident on April 10, Banerjee had said that her government will initiate a Crime Investigation Department inquiry into the deaths. She had also questioned the central security forces’ version of firing on voters in self-defence.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs is scheduled to meet Election Commission officials in New Delhi on Wednesday afternoon, PTI reported. The delegation will include Derek O’Brien, Kalyan Banerjee, Pratima Mondal and Santanu Sen.
Campaigning for the fifth phase of West Bengal elections will end on Wednesday evening as the Election Commission has extended the “silence period” to 72 hours from the usual 48 hours. The decision was taken following the poll-related violence in the fourth phase.
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