KOLKATA: With the death of two persons in the past 24 hours ahead of the upcoming rural election, the State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday identified 4,834 polling booths as sensitive which is 7.8 per cent of the total booths where 5.67 crore electorates will exercise their franchise on July 8.
The Centre on Monday gave the nod to send 485 additional companies of Central Armed Paramilitary Force (CAPF) as requisitioned by the SEC to comply with the Calcutta High Court’s order directing the state poll panel to deploy central force across the state during panchayat elections.
The total death toll before the rural polls has gone up to 15 in past fortnight. “Out of 61,636 polling booths, we mapped 4,834 as sensitive ones, which is 7.8 per cent of the total capacity. We identified the sensitive booths on the basis of experience in the past rural polls,” said an SEC official.
Bengal on Monday continued recording fresh deaths ahead of the rural polls. Body of Bankim Hansda in his mid-30s, bearing injury marks, was found lying in a field at Manbazar in Purulia and the BJP claimed the deceased was a party worker.
“Hansda left home on Sunday evening and did not return home at night. His family members found the body on Monday morning. We sent the body for autopsy to ascertain the exact cause behind Hansda’s death,” said a police officer.
BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari demanded CBI probe into Hansda’s death. In another incident, Paritosh Mondal, in his 30s, died in an explosion when he was manufacturing crude bombs in a paddy field at Habra, North 24 Parganas. Locals rushed him to a healthcare centre where doctors declared him dead.
Toll 15 ahead of rural polls
The total death toll before the rural polls has gone up to 15 in past fortnight. The Centre on Monday gave a nod to send 485 additional companies of CAPF as requisitioned by the SEC