Kolkata: Kolkata Police has summoned two Trinamool Congress councillors in connection with an FIR lodged over an alleged ruckus outside the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office on Tuesday night.
Shanti Ranjan Kundu (Ward 32) and Sachin Singh (Ward 36) have been served notices by Hare Street police station and asked to appear for questioning within three days of receipt.
Singh said on Friday: “We were protesting peacefully against the alleged inclusion of outsiders’ names in the voter list through Form 6. But the Election Commission acted at the BJP’s behest and cases were registered against us. My advocate will look into the matter and respond.” Kundu could not be reached for comment.
A total of six persons have been booked in connection with the incident.
According to the FIR, on the intervening night of March 31 and April 1, the accused unlawfully assembled near the Election Commission office at the Hare Street–Strand Road crossing and refused to disperse despite repeated police requests. The controversy began earlier in the week over the submission of Form 6 for the inclusion of new names in the electoral roll. The Trinamool Congress alleged that outsiders were being brought in and enrolled as voters. Tensions escalated when BJP workers also gathered outside the CEO’s office, with both sides raising slogans. Police later erected barricades to control the situation.
In the aftermath, prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS were imposed in front of the CEO’s office on Wednesday.
In a separate development, two Deputy Commissioners have been issued show-cause notices over alleged lapses during a BJP rally in the Hazra area addressed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
DC (South) Siddhartha Dutta and DC (Reserve Force) Manas Roy, who were in charge of security, have been asked to explain how the situation turned violent and why crowd control measures failed.