Kolkata: Amid reports of alleged 'excesses' committed by the Central forces security personnel against workers and booth agents of Trinamool Congress during the seventh phase of polls on Monday, party chairperson Mamata Banerjee directed her party workers—while addressing a video conference at Minerva Theatre in North Kolkata—to lodge FIRs against the security personnel if found 'terrorising people.'
At a time when Banerjee had raised apprehension regarding 'illegal detention' of her party workers, police raided the houses of party's polling agents in Pandabeshwar Assembly constituency in West Burdwan on Monday.
TMC candidate of Pandabeswar, Narendranath Chakraborty, staged a sit-in-demonstration outside Pandabeswar police station protesting against the alleged 'excesses' against his party's polling agents, who were reportedly taken to the police station in the garb of 'preventive arrest.'
Allegations of assaulting TMC workers after visiting their houses cropped up against the Central force personnel and some local policemen. TMC's camp office was ransacked and its party workers were beaten up allegedly by Central forces at ward number 22 in Durgapur Paschim Assembly constituency. TMC candidate from the constituency, Biswanath Padiyal, claimed that the Central force personnel were functioning in favour of the BJP.
Banerjee claimed to have received information about the Central forces allegedly attacking the house of a TMC leader at Raninagar. She also referred to the information shared by her party's Asansol Dakshin Assembly constituency Sayani Ghosh that the party workers and polling agents were being 'terrorised.'
Raising allegations against the Central force of throwing food of her party workers, Banerjee said despite all 'excesses', TMC would win the election.
TMC also alleged that Central force jawans pushed a TMC agent out of the booth at Paharpur Panchayat Muktarpur Adarsha Vidyapeeth in Raninagar. Similar allegations of 'terrorising' voters cropped up at booth number 208 in Suti.
Allegation of 'excesses' by the Central force cropped up at booth number 130 in Sagardighi Assembly constituency in Murshidabad as well. According to reports, security personnel resorted to lathi charge at booth number 127 at Sagardighi.
A TMC agent was allegedly not allowed to enter the booth at Kanchantala in Farakka in Murshidabad, while another agent was also assaulted at Chanchal in Malda by Central force. Some West Burdwan Asansol Uttar voters were allegedly prevented from casting votes.
Meanwhile, Banerjee cautioned candidates of the seats going to polls on April 29 that a list had been prepared by the BJP and shared with the Kolkata Police through the Election Commission to detain party workers in the name of 'preventive detention'. "No one should go to the police station," she said.