Kolkata civic polls: Governor condemns crude bomb explosion outside polling booth

Dec 19, 2021

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], December 19 : West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday condemned the crude bomb explosion outside a polling booth in Kolkata and said that peaceful voting is extremely important in a democratic system.
After casting his vote, Dhankhar told the media, "Peaceful voting is extremely important for people to vote without any fear. I told State Election Commissioner to make necessary arrangements for peaceful voting and to ensure no state intervention."
"We all should work according to the law and order. Last night, State Election Commissioner Saurav Das directed that only Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and MP Abhishek Banerjee's security will be able to go to the polling booth. My security persons have also complied with this order. It is our duty to follow the law and order," he added.
The Governor said that the National Human Rights Commission has also commented many times on the violent incidents which took place after the 2021 assembly elections.
Amid the polling for Kolkata Municipal elections, a crude bomb was hurled today outside a polling booth injuring a voter. The incident took place outside Taki Boys School in ward 36 of North Kolkata.
According to Kolkata Police sources, one Congress worker has been detained in connection with this crude bomb explosion. The man was identified by analyzing CCTV footage.
Polling is underway at 4,959 polling booths in all 144 wards of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) amid tight security and with COVID-19 protocols.
The voting began at 7 am and will continue till 5 PM on Sunday. The counting of votes will take place on December 21.