A prospective panchayat poll candidate and a political worker were shot dead in Bhangar in South 24-Parganas and a campaigner was killed in Murshidabad on Thursday, the last day for filing nominations for the July 8 rural elections, a few hours before and after Calcutta High Court ordered the deployment of central forces in all districts in Bengal.
Mahiuddin Molla was killed around 3pm while travelling to the Bhangar II block office to file papers as an Indian Secular Front (ISF) candidate under police escort.
Around 1.30pm, Trinamul Congress supporter Rashid Molla had been allegedly shot dead during a clash with political opponents in the vicinity of the same office.
Close to 9pm, Trinamul leader Mozammel Sheikh was murdered at Nabagram in Murshidabad while he was on his way to campaign for a party candidate. He was first shot at and then attacked with bombs. Trinamul has called a bandh in Nabagram on Friday.
A division bench of Calcutta High Court, headed by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, on Thursday evening ordered the deployment of central forces in all districts of Bengal within 48 hours to ensure violence-free panchayat polls.
The court modified its earlier order that had limited the deployment of central forces to seven sensitive districts. Now, the central forces will have to be deployed in 22 of the state’s 23 districts, barring Calcutta. The bench said on Thursday that “no appreciable” steps had been taken since the earlier order was passed.
Alleged attempts by Trinamul to prevent the filing of nomination papers prompted the ISF MLA from Bhangar, Nawsad Siddique, to sit in protest in front of the state election commission’s office.
Siddique demanded the resignation of state poll panel chief Rajiva Sinha and the police minister. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee holds the home portfolio.
Around 9am, suspected Trinamul supporters had defied prohibitory orders and gathered in front of the two block offices in Bhangar where nominations were to be filed.
A bomb was hurled at 11.05am and 15 minutes later, CPM candidate Giasuddin Molla was attacked when he arrived to file his nomination.
ISF and CPM supporters said Trinamul activists, allegedly led by party leader Arabul Islam, took control of the block II office and prevented the entry of Opposition candidates. The police were accused of being spectators as bombs were hurled and bullets fired.
As the situation worsened, the ISF approached the high court for redress. The counsel representing the ISF candidates submitted before the bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha that Trinamulsupporters were preventing his clients from filing their nominations. The state’s counsel denied the claim and alleged that it was ISF supporters who had attacked Trinamul activists.
Justice Mantha issued an order asking the police to escort the petitioners to Bhangar and ensure that they could file their nominations.
After the court order, around 82 ISF candidates, including Mahiuddin, were escorted by police from the Bhangar and Kashipur police stations to the Bhangar I and II block offices.
Mahiuddin was part of a group travelling in a vehicle towards the Bhangar II block office. As the vehicle reached Bhangar’s Sonpur Bazar area, the ISF candidates came under indiscriminate firing.
Their police escorts allegedly fled the scene. A police officer said the force had been outnumbered by armed supporters of political parties.
During the firing, a bullet hit Mahiuddin and killed him on the spot.
ISF South 24-Parganas chief Abdul Maleque Molla said the Bhangar II BDO had agreed to accept nominations from the ISF candidates even after the stipulated time but the BDO of Bhangar I had refused to do so.
Later in the day, when Justice Mantha was informed, he allowed the petitioners to file contempt petitions in his court on Friday.
Trinamul’s observer in Bhangar and Canning East MLA Saokat Molla claimed that Rashid had died after being “hit by three bullets fired by ISF goons”.