Ahead of the second phase of polling in West Bengal, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has deployed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to ensure 'bombs are not used' by miscreants to disrupt voting and target workers of political parties, poll authority officials said on Tuesday.
The move comes in the wake of crude bomb recoveries and reports of a minor blast in the poll-bound state. While the first phase of polling was held on April 23, the second phase is scheduled for Wednesday.
EC officials said the Commission is adopting stringent measures to prevent any poll-day or post-poll violence and to ensure that voters can exercise their franchise without fear.
79 crude bombs recovered from TMC worker's house
On April 26, police recovered at least 79 crude bombs from the house of a person, allegedly a Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker, at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The explosives were seized during a search operation at the house of Rafikul Islam, conducted on the basis of specific intelligence inputs, he said.
Later, on a directive by the Union Home Ministry, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case to probe the recovery of 79 crude bombs in the state.
In pursuance of the MHA's order, the anti-terror agency on Sunday registered a case, which was originally filed at Uttar Kashi police station, Bhangar division, Kolkata on Saturday, and took up the investigation, an NIA spokesperson said in a late-night statement. "The case pertains to the recovery of 79 crude bombs and other incriminating materials by Kolkata police, which were being stored at a spot, thereby endangering human life and property," the spokesperson said.
Bengal poll security arrangements
Polling will be held at 41,001 polling stations, all of which will be covered by webcasting.
A total of 2,321 companies of central forces have been deployed, with the highest deployment of 273 companies in Kolkata, officials said.
As many as 142 general observers, 95 police observers, and 100 expenditure observers have been deployed, while drones fitted with cameras will be used to monitor the polling process.
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