Hours after voting began for the fourth phase on Saturday, four people were killed after Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel on election duty, allegedly under attack by a mob, opened fire in self-defense in the district’s Sitalkuchi constituency, police and EC officials said.

Saddened by the incident of firing that killed four people in Cooch Behar was “genocide” said West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. She alleged that the Election Commission restricted the entry of politicians in the district for three days as it sought to “suppress facts”.

CM Banerjee contacted the families of the killed people in the firing via video call at a press conference in Siliguri.  “They are killing people using Central forces and giving clean cheat thereafter. This is genocide. I could not meet the families. I will meet them on April 14. I cannot be stopped.”

“They have fired directly at the chest or the neck. Why CISF has been deployed to control the public? They are not trained for that. CISF is trained specially for industrial security. Now to suppress the fact, they are stopping us to visit there. They ordered this 72 hours rule just to stop me from meeting those families. This is unprecedented,” she alleged.

Union home minister Amit Shah blamed Banerjee for the violence in Cooch Behar, saying that her appeal to the people to target security forces provoked the clash and attack on the central forces.

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

₹ 10 - ₹ 1000

NYOOOZ FRIEND

₹ 2000 - ₹ 5000

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.