The Election Commission on Tuesday sought details from the Bengal government about the officers in charge and their superiors on duty five years ago in areas where violence was reported during the 2021 Assembly elections.
Sources said the state’s director-general of police (DGP) was asked to share the information when the full bench of the EC met for the second day with senior officials of the state government, including chief secretary Nandini Chakravorty and DGP Peeyush Pandey.
“The state government has been asked to submit a report mentioning the names of the then on-duty officers who were OCs and their supervising officers from the areas where violence was reported during the elections five years ago. The administration has been told to mention if any departmental inquiry had been started against them following the incidents of political violence during the polls,” a source said, quoting the poll panel.
The direction came a day after Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar asked senior officers of the law-executing agencies to treat their meeting as a “warning” before the elections.
“If the objectives of a free and fair election are fulfilled, then it is ok.... If not, do not compel us to take action,” the CEC had reportedly told the state officials who were part of the meeting on Monday. The EC issued instructions to the agencies. (See chart)
The team EC arrived in the city on Sunday evening to review preparations for the polls.
On Tuesday, the full bench sought details of the instances of poll violence during the 2021 Bengal elections.
Several incidents of violence — big and small — were reported across the city in 2021.
Bengal had witnessed an eight-phase election, where the fourth phase on April 10, 2021, was marked by the death of four persons at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar as central forces opened fire, killing four villagers on the pretext that the booth had been attacked.
After the elections, a BJP activist named Abhijit Sarkar was murdered in north Calcutta’s Narkeldanga during alleged post-poll violence.
The CBI later took up the probe.
The central agency has chargesheeted the then officer in charge of Narkeldanga police station, a civic volunteer who was then attached to the police station and the investigating officer of the case. It has also chargesheeted the local Trinamool Congress MLA and two ruling party councillors.
Sources in the EC said that it was trying to show “exemplary action” against officers who were in charge of the violence-affected areas in 2021, to give “a clear signal to those who will be holding the elections this year”.