Clashes and violence marred Monday's rural elections in south Bengal. Some of the key incidents reported from the districts.
Clashes
• A Trinamul candidate, Manoj Dutta, from Andal gram panchayat in West Burdwan's Dhupchururia was beaten up by alleged BJP workers. District Trinamul leaders said Dutta was visiting booths in his area when he noticed some BJP workers had entered one of them and were casting "false votes". "When Dutta protested, he was beaten up by the hired BJP goons," said V. Sivadasan, Trinamul's West Burdwan chief. The BJP denied the charges. Dutta suffered injuries in his collarbone and was admitted to the Durgapur subdivisional hospital.
• Trinamul and BJP workers clashed in Kanksa's Amlajora gram panchayat. A Trinamul worker suffered injuries in his hand when an arrow hit him. Both parties blamed each other. Later, police rushed to the spot and dispersed the warring groups.
• In Bankura's Raipur, a Trinamul worker suffered injuries in his hand when an arrow hit him during a clash between BJP and Trinamul supporters. Both parties blamed each other.
• Seven persons took splinter injuries when crude bombs were hurled during a clash between alleged Trinamul and Congress supporters in Eroyali in Murshidabad's Khargram. Two of the injured were admitted to Kandi sub divisional hospital and the remaining five to Khargram block hospital.
• Six Trinamul supporters were wounded when goons allegedly backed by the Congress attacked ruling party supporters at Ghasipur in Murshidabad's Daulatabad.
• A Trinamul polling agent in Nadia's Pipulberia gram panchayat was hit by an arrow when supporters of Opposition parties attacked a booth alleging proxy voting by the ruling party.
• Bishnu Raha, 30, supporting an Independent, suffered a bullet injury at Belghoria-I gram panachayat in Nadia's Shantipur when goons allegedly backed by Trinamul opened fire to scare away voters from a booth. Raha was admitted to Shantipur state general hospital, from where he was referred to SSKM Hospital in Calcutta on Monday evening.
• Biswajit Haldar, 20, was hit by a bullet when he was standing nearby a booth and a clash erupted between supporters of the CPM and Trinamul at Taherpur in Nadia. Halder was admitted to Shaktinagar district hospital.
Booth capture
• Alleged Trinamul backed goons forced their way into a booth (Number 43) at Kabirpur Primary School in East Burdwan's Memari and set the ballot papers on fire. They locked up the poll officials in a room, snatched the ballot box and threw them into a pond. Later, some villagers chased them away.
• In East Burdwan's Purbasthali Block II alleged BJP workers ransacked Booth Number 69 and tried to set the ballot papers on fire. Later, they torched four motorbikes parked near the booth.
• Four persons, including two women, were injured when goons allegedly backed by Trinamul hurled bombs during an attempt to capture a booth in Shyamnagar in Murshidabad's Naoda.
• An ASI, Md Samsuzzaman, and a voter, Nur Salim, took splinter injuries when goons allegedly backed by Trinamul tried to capture a booth in Makrampur in Murshidabad's Beldanga.
• Ballots were damaged in two booths in Rajarhat. In one booth, alleged BJP workers poured water into the ballot box and in another, goons allegedly backed by Trinamul took away the ballot boxes and threw them into a nearby pond.
• Supporters of the BJP and the CPM took away three ballot boxes from a booth in Natidanga-II gram panchayat in Nadia and dumped them in a pond. The Opposition parties' supporters said they had done this to protest Trinamul's proxy voting.
• Alik Das, a BJP polling agent for a zilla parishad candidate at Kamalpur in Nadia's Chakdah, was beaten up by alleged Trinamul workers.
