Stage set for Bengal panchayat polls on Monday
West Bengal panchayat polls
Kolkata, May 13: Preceded by weeks of violence, intense court battles and alleged use of muscle power to prevent opponents from filing nominations, the West Bengal panchayat polls are all set to be held on Monday, which will give a clearer picture of the battle lines ahead of the 2019 general elections.
While the ruling Trinamool Congress has been doing consistently well in polls at all levels for the last few years, the main suspense has in recent past centred around which political force -- the BJP or the Left Front -- would be its main challenger.
While the LF-Congress alliance finished second in the 2016 Assembly elections, since then, the Bharatiya Janata Party has been ending runners-up in almost all elections in the state.
Pre-poll surveys have predicted that the coming rural elections could provide an emphatic answer to the questions, with the BJP predicted to leave the LF and the Congress far behind and emerge as the main rival to the Trinamool - which, the surveys claims, would walk away with the bulk of the seats at all three levels -- panchayat, panchayat samiti and the zila parishad.
The run-up to the polls has been both murky and high on drama.
As the nomination process started last month, all the opposition parties accused the Trinamool of indulging in strongarm tactics to prevent them from filing nominations.
Television pictures broadcast across the channels showed groups of armed mobs gathering before the offices of the Block Development Officers and the Sub-Divisional Officers in a number of districts and stopping prospective candidates from entering the poll fray.
The matter reached the Calcutta High Court, and the State Election Commission extended the deadline for submitting nominations by a day, only to reverse the order in less than 12 hours, allegedly under pressure from the Trinamool.
The judiciary then put a stay on the elections, then scheduled to be held on May 1, 3 and 5.
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 panchayats, 3,059 of the total 9,217 panchayat samitis and 203 of the total 825 zila parishads.
The Supreme Court has now asked the SEC not to issue winning certificates in case of the uncontested seats.
The opposition parties have, however, expressed grave doubts of free and fair elections, saying they have little faith in the SEC, or the state administration, which is in charge of security.
The SEC has, on the other hand, said all arrangements had been made for providing security for the polls. Around 71,500 armed personnel would be on duty, manning every booth.
"The state has promised deployment of Rapid Action Force, and undertaking area domination and naka checking in their final draft. The SEC is satisfied with the arrangement," said an election official.
Armed forces have also arrived from Assam, Odisha, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh to strengthen security arrangements.
However, there have been reports of a number of killings since the polling process began. The latest incident happened on Friday in Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district, where a supporter of an independent candidate was shot dead. A former Trinamool legislator Arabul Islam has been arrested in connection with the incident.
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11 Indian nationals charged in US over visa fraud
New York (PTI): Eleven Indian nationals, living illegally in the US, have been charged with visa fraud for conspiring to carry out staged armed robberies of convenience shops, according to US federal prosecutors.
Authorities said the suspects are accused of organising fake robberies for the purpose of allowing the store clerks to falsely claim they were crime victims on immigration applications towards getting a Green Card.
Jitendrakumar Patel, 39, Maheshkumar Patel, 36, Sanjaykumar Patel, 45, Dipikaben Patel, 40, Rameshbhai Patel, 52, Amitabahen Patel, 43, Ronakkumar Patel, 28, Sangitaben Patel, 36, Minkesh Patel, 42, Sonal Patel, 42 and Mitul Patel, 40 have been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud.
They all were living unlawfully in various US states such as Massachusetts, Kentucky and Ohio.
Dipikaben was deported to India after unlawfully residing in Weymouth, Massachusetts, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Jitendrakumar, Maheshkumar, Sanjaykumar, Amitabahen, Sangitaben and Mitul were arrested in Massachusetts and released following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on Friday.
Rameshbhai, Ronakkumar, Sonal and Minkesh were arrested and made their initial appearances in Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio. They will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to the charging documents, in March 2023, Rambhai and his co-conspirators set up and carried out staged armed robberies of at least six convenience/liquor stores and fast food restaurants in Massachusetts and elsewhere.
It is alleged that the purpose of the staged robberies was to allow the clerks present to falsely claim that they were victims of a violent crime on an application for a U non-immigration status (U Visa).
A U Visa is available to victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and who have been helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity. The U visa offers an immigrant work authorisation and a path to a Green Card within 5–10 years.
Authorities said that in the course of the alleged staged robberies, the “robber” would threaten store clerks or the owners with an apparent firearm before taking cash from the register and fleeing, while the interaction was captured on store surveillance video.
The clerks or the store owners would then wait five or more minutes until the “robber” had escaped before calling the police to report the “crime.”
The “victims” are alleged to have each paid Rambhai to participate in the scheme. In turn, Rambhai allegedly paid the store owners for the use of their stores for the staged robbery.
Rambhai, the “robber,” and the getaway driver were previously charged and convicted.
The 11 defendants charged on Friday are alleged to have either arranged with the organiser to set up each robbery, or paid for themselves or a family member to participate as a “victim.”
The charge of conspiracy to commit visa fraud provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of USD 250,000.
