A day after returning the joining letter of State Election Commissioner (SEC) Rajiva Sinha to the state government, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Thursday said he had appointed the former bureaucrat "trusting" his ability to conduct free and fair polls.

Bose said there have been several incidents of violence in parts of the state and the people of Bengal were "disappointed" because of the apparent inaction of the SEC.

"I appointed the SEC trusting that he would conduct the panchayat polls in a free and fair manner. But I find the people are disappointed on his apparent inaction," Bose told reporters.

"The fact that there is violence cannot be denied," he said, adding that the SEC should not only be impartial, but should also be perceived to be impartial.

The Governor had on Wednesday night returned the joining letter of Sinha to the state government, hours after the ex-IAS officer failed to appear before him after he was summoned to give an explanation on the murders, violence and clashes during nomination filing for panchayat polls earlier this month.

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