A strong room in Birbhum where ballot boxes are stored. Picture by Indrajit Roy

May 20: Six-year-old Suman Sheikh and his sister Subina Khatoon were sitting on the verandah hungry, waiting for their mother to finish cooking, when an explosion rocked their courtyard.

Suman’s arms were ripped off his body and splinters hit Subina.

The siblings’ aunts Anjila Bibi, 20, and Ruma Bibi, 30, were also injured at Natungram in Murshidabad’s Ranitala.

“Suman and Subina were in the verandah around 1pm while their aunts were busy cooking. Suddenly, some Congress supporters came running down the road, hurling bombs. One of the bombs landed inside our house,” said Manarul Sheikh, 30, an uncle of the children.

Manarul’s family supports the CPM.

The children’s grandmother Kodbanu, 60, was crying inconsolably at the Behrampore General Hospital. “The child-ren were hungry and frequently nudging their aunts to hu- rry up. Suddenly, everything went topsy-turvy and they were lying in a pool of blood,” said Kodbanu.

The deputy superintendent of the Behrampore general hospital said Suman’s condition was serious. “He (Suman) has lost portions of both his arms and he is having breathing problems. He needs blood,” said Mondal.

The incident comes a day after four-year-old Mili Khatoon was ripped apart by a bomb while playing in the verandah of her hut in Talibpur, also in Murshidabad.

The government tonight promulgated prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in Domkol, Murshidabad, which has witnessed at least nine deaths since the third phase of the polls on Sunday.

“Section 144 will also be imposed within 200 metres of all 329 counting centres tomorrow,” home secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti said.

“I personally don’t expect too much violence during the counting, but there might be repercussions soon after. That’s why we need to make doubly sure every arrangement is in place,” Chakrabarti added.

CPM state secretary and Left Front chief Biman Bose today asked supporters of his party and the allies not to take out victory processions.

As the counting begins tomorrow morning for the three-tier panchayat polls, both the ruling front and the Opposition fear more violence.

“All of us have to ensure that the violence doesn’t escalate. I have spoken to the front partners and decided not to hold victory rallies and processions till the zilla parishads are formed,” said Bose.

Bose, who had earlier almost preened that the bloodshed was not as much as in the 2003 rural polls — 60 people were killed in three days then — today expressed “serious concern over so many deaths”.

The police had echoed him. Inspector-general (law and order) Raj Kanojia had said: “It was a pleasant surprise. These elections have turned out to be far less violent than the last rural elections.”

Bose changed tack today. “There should not be a repeat of what happened during the polls,” he said. “The adminis- tration should call all-party meetings to pre-empt trouble.”