The ongoing Special Intensive Revision exercise in West Bengal is facing many hurdles as a result of the ruling TMC’s open opposition to the routine electoral process. Recently, the husband of a primary school para-teacher engaged in the SIR as a BLO was brutally attacked in Dation village under Sultanpur Gram Panchayat in Harishchandrapur police station area of the Malda district in West Bengal.
According to the complaint filed by BLO Nibedita Mondal, the incident happened after she refused to follow the instructions of Mohammad Kasimuddin, a local land mafia, former Congress panchayat member, and currently associated with the ruling TMC. Kasimuddin was pressuring Nibedita Mondal and her husband, Kamal Mondal, to carry out the SIR form distribution and collection as per his instructions.
When the couple resisted, Kasimuddin caught the husband alone in a field and brutally assaulted him. He clutched the testicles of the victim in an attempt to kill him.
Hearing the screams of the victims, the locals rushed to rescue him. He was admitted to Harishchandrapur Rural Hospital, where his condition remains critical.
“We were constantly threatened to follow his instructions. When we refused, my husband was almost killed,” said Nibedita Mondal.
The Congress party has denied any connection with Kasimuddin. Local Congress leader Mostak Alam said that Kasimuddin is sheltered by the ruling party.
Commenting on the incident, BJP district secretary Rupesh Agarwal said, “The ruling party is using local criminals to intimidate BLOs and control SIR form fill-up”.