More questions than answers around CISF firing at Sitalkuchi cast a shadow over the EC  

The Modi government’s narrative surrounding Sitalkuchi police firing in which four voters were killed and attempts of Vivek Dube, Special Police Observer, to put the blame on local people stand exposed.

In his report Dubey, a known BJP supporter deputed to Bengal by the Election Commission, said a boy had fallen sick near a polling booth and some women were found taking care of him. Dubey mentions that when a group of CISF personnel approached them to ask whether they wanted to send him to hospital in a vehicle parked nearby, some onlookers mistakenly thought the jawans had beaten the boy and raised an outcry. The report says this prompted 300 to 350 villagers to gather near the booth. The situation escalated thereafter, culminating in the fatal shootings.

Dubey concealed the fact that a CISF jawan had brutally assaulted the boy. In fact the boy's account and the narrative of the report sent to EC by Dubey do not match. The boy Mrinal Haque said; 'Central force jawan grabbed me by my neck and hit me with his stick.

Reports emanating from Sitalkuchi reveal that after Mrinal fell on the ground, his parents reached there. His mother said; “Soon, a police team arrived and offered to take him to hospital. Seeing his condition, we agreed and headed for the Mathabhanga sub-divisional hospital”.

Records at the hospital, 10km from Mrinal’s home in Jorpatki, show that the boy had arrived with severe body ache and blunt injury marks in his buttocks, back and shoulder. Mrinal had told the hospital personnel: “I was in the local market (in Jorpatki on Saturday morning) when a central force jawan grabbed me by the neck and hit me several times with his stick. I pleaded with him but he kept beating me. After some time, he stopped and I fell to the ground.”

It was the unprovoked thrashing of Mrinal that had prompted the people to protest the central forces’ high-handedness, which led to the firing that killed the four voters in Jorpatki.

There is no ambiguity that Killing of the four voters during the fourth phase of polling was a planned and well executed exercise. The boy was the first victim. Mamata Banerjee on her part described the incident as “genocide” and demanded home minister Amit Shah’s resignation.

The latest revelations make it explicit that CISF's action of shooting dead the four labourers was not a spontaneous act. No element of provocation was involved in it. The word provocation is being simply mentioned to justify the brutal firing. The mindset of the BJP leaders is evident from West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh who on Sunday said, “there will be more such incidents like the one that happened in Cooch Behar’s Sitalkuchi during the fourth phase of polling for the Assembly if “dustuchelera” (bad boys) do not behave in the coming election phases.”

Ghosh was not content with what the CISF has done. At a public meeting at Baranagar in North 24 Parganas he threatened. “From where have the ‘dustuchele’ (bad boys) come? This is only the beginning. Those who think that the CISF carry guns just for show are mistaken. If anyone takes law into his own hands, he will receive a befitting reply. Central forces will be deployed in booths and no one will be allowed to threaten them. If things go out of hand, there will be more Sitalkuchi-like incidents in many places. So beware”.

The desperation of BJP leaders had become visible during the second phase of the polling itself. Even Mamata was forced to make a statement that Election Commission at the instruction of Amit Shah was creating problems. It was during this the security forces were seen threatening women voters, which prompted Mamata to call upon the women voters not to listen to the forces and gherao them if they continued with their machination.

Shah is using her word of caution to deflect his obligation and responsibilities. Shah on Sunday launched a scathing attack against Mamata alleging that her advice to gherao central forces had instigated people to attack CISF.

This is for the first time in the electoral history of the state that people have turned vocal against the misdemeanour of the Election Commission and the security forces. The role of the Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora has not only been questionable but also partisan.

The EC and the security officials have been trying to justify the CISF action on grounds of self-defence”. This version has been questioned. On Sunday while narrating their woes to Mamata through video conferencing, the family members of the deceased said; “those killed were waiting in the queue outside the booth to cast their vote when they fell to the bullets. Some of them were day-labourers who had come to the village to cast their votes.” Those who were killed were supporters of Trinamool; Nur Alam Mian (20), Maniruzzaman Mian (28), Samiul Haq (21) and Hamidul Mian (31).

Mamata had alleged that police fired on the neck and chest of the voters. Though police claimed that they resorted to firing in self defence they could not produce any weapon or even stick to substantiate their allegation.

The most shocking has been the behaviour of the CEC who acted on the recommendation of its controversial police official, Vivek Dubey. In his report he had justified the police action of killing innocent villagers.

Though Narendra Modi has been claiming that BJP would form the government, the fact remains that its senior leaders are sceptical. Only a couple of days back the central leadership of the party made public its decision to cut the election fund to the candidates. The leaders obviously feel that the response is not commensurate to the investment.

Women voters have been sympathetic to Mamata as she has launched several schemes for them. Besides women have an emotional attachment with Mamata. Modi’s tone while referring to Mamata on campaign trail has been widely criticised as being insulting and verging on harassment. According to some BJP leaders the Cooch Behar incident has become a cause of concern for the BJP as this is the first time in recent memory that people have lost their lives from firing by the central forces that report to the Home Minister.

High handedness of the security forces even against the women election officials have come to light. Sujata Mallik was appointed by the EC to help voters with the polling process but her work was hampered as central forces threw her out of the polling premises at Chandernagore in Hooghly on Saturday. Mallik is not a representative of a political party and was deployed by the poll panel to help voters. She had an identity proof around her neck and her designation was clearly written but even then the forces did not listen to her arguments.

There is no denying the fact that Election Commission should be held responsible because it has made large scale transfers and postings of senior police officers in Bengal on the plea for smooth and peaceful conduct of election, which it could not do.

(IPA Service)

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