May 18: Two CPM candidates in Malda were admitted to hospital in serious condition this evening, while a youth was stabbed in North Dinajpur. However, the last phase of the panchayat polls in the five district of north Bengal managed to avoid loss of life today.

Besides stray incidents of violence, a storm in the afternoon held up polling for more than an hour in Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts. There were allegations from Islampur that a ballot box had been snatched by goons in Gaisal I. North Dinajpur district magistrate Sukumar Bhattacharyya announced re-polling in a booth in Chopra’s Kolaram.

Trouble broke out late in the evening in Malda’s Ratua and Harishchandrapur, where two CPM candidates were rescued by police and taken to hospital in serious condition.

The Malda district secretary of the CPM, Jiban Moitra, said the party’s zilla parishad candidate from Ratua, Azizur Rehman, and the co-chairman of the West Bengal College and Universities Teachers’ Association, Sadiqul Islam, went missing after trouble broke out over the distribution of “tokens” to voters standing in queue outside booths well after 5pm.

“The two were found by the police around 9pm. They were lying in their car, badly injured and the driver was missing. They have been admitted to the district hospital,” Moitra said.

Malda police chief Stayajit Banerjee said the law enforcers had to fire in the air in many places in the district to prevent clashes from breaking out after the official time for polling was over.

Malda district magistrate Chittaranjan Das said polling went on in many places well past 8pm. “I am receiving reports that polling has been suspended in many booths in the evening because of tension in the areas. I am looking into the situation,” Das said.

The CPM has demanded re-polling in 17 booths in Malda. In a memorandum to the state election commission and the district magistrate, Moitra asked for re-polling in booths in Ratua I and II, Harishchandrapur I and II, Chanchol II and in Old Malda, alleging rigging and false vote.

The police in North Dinjapur, too, had to fire several rounds in booths in Chopra, Chakulia and Goalpokhar areas where CPM and Congress supporters clashed. Goalpokhar MLA and Congress leader Deepa Das Munshi blamed the CPM for unleashing terror in Chopra from the morning. “I have been complaining to the police and the administration without any effect,” she said.

In Kanki’s Suia, Mohammad Nasir Akhtar, 25, was stabbed, allegedly by CPM supporters. “The youth has been admitted to Kishenganj hospital in critical condition,” said North Dinajpur police chief Swapan Banerjee Purnapatra.

Later in the evening, Congress supporters attacked the brother of former Goalpokhar MLA Hafiz Alam Sairani. “My brother, Victor, is missing,” Sairani said.

The only death allegedly connected to the polls took place last night when Fazer Ali Haq, 58, of Madhya Chhakamari in Jalpaiguri’s Khairbari was killed, allegedly by RSP supporters. His body was found alongside NH31C.

“He was reporting for duty as a night guard at a hotel and was stabbed on the back. For the past few days, the RSP members here had been threatening us that they would teach us a lesson,” said Fazer Ali’s son, Aminul Haq.

The Jalpaiguri district committee secretary of the RSP, Sunil Banik, said the man had died in a road accident. “Our supporters had nothing to do with it,” he said.

Alipurduar additional police superintendent S.R. Misra said a murder case had been started. “The cause of death can be ascertained only after the post-mortem,” he said.