Sporadic violence, clashes mar Bengal rural polls
Kolkata, May 14 : Sporadic violence and clashes between opposing political groups marred the initial hours of West Bengal panchayat polls on Monday.
The polling for electing 38,616 representatives across three tiers of state (rural) bodies started at 7 a.m. and would continue till 5 p.m.
According to the State Election Commission (SEC), 12.2 per cent votes were cast in the initial two hours of polling till 9 a.m.
Reports of clashes and booth capturing were received from pockets of South 24 Parganas, West Midnapore and Cooch Behar districts.
In South 24 Parnagas' Bhangar the 'Jomi, Jibika, Bastutantra O Poribesh Raksha Committee' accused armed miscreants of Trinamool Congress of kidnapping their Panchayat Samiti candidate Sariful Mullick and terrorising the voters.
The committee that was formed to protect land, livelihood, ecology and environment has been spearheading an anti-power grid movement in the area and has fielded nine independent candidate in the rural polls.
The committee also accused the police of not taking action against the miscreants involved in casting false votes and backing the men of Trinamool Congress leader Arabul Islam, who was arrested three days back in an alleged case of murder.
Clashes were also reported in the district's Namkhana and several other areas.
In north Bengal's Jalpaiguri, Minister in-charge of north Bengal development, Rabindranath Ghosh, was accused of slapping a Bharatiya Janata Party polling agent and forcing him out of the polling premises.
The SEC sought a report from the Jalpaiguri District Magistrate regarding the incident. The Minister, however, denied all allegations.
Incidents of violence took place in East Midnapore district's Panskura and West Midnapore district's Keshpur where gun totting miscreants gathered outside the polling stations and beat up the voters.
The dates of state rural polls were initially declared on May 1, 3 and 5 but as the nomination process started in April, all the opposition parties accused the Trinamool of indulging in strongarm tactics to prevent them from filing nominations.
The matter reached the Calcutta High Court, that subsequently stayed the polling process and asked the SEC to extend nomination deadline and announce fresh election schedule.
More bitter legal battles followed, at the end of which the SEC declared May 14 as the new polling date.
Statistics reveal that of the total 58,692 seats in the three tiers of rural local bodies, 20,076 seats or 34.2 per cent have already been decided uncontested, with the Trinamool bagging a whopping proportion of these seats.
These seats include 16,814 of the total 48,650 in gram panchayats, 3,059 of the total 9,217 in panchayat samitis and 203 of the total 825 in zila parishads.The Supreme Court has now asked the SEC not to issue winning certificates in case of the uncontested seats.
The SEC has, on the other hand, said all arrangements had been made for providing security for the polls. Around 71,500 armed personnel were on duty, manning every booth.
Armed forces have also arrived from Assam, Odisha, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh to strengthen security arrangements.
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Suspected drones observed along IB in Jammu's Samba, being engaged: Army
Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.
This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.
The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.
“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.
In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.
Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.
On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.
It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.
The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.
India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.
Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.
Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.
The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.
The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.
The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.
The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.
WATCH: OP Sindoor continues. Minutes after PM Speech.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) May 12, 2025
A small numbers of suspected drones being observed near Samba in J&K. Being engaged . pic.twitter.com/jmGmRkmQ26
