Panchayat Polls: Calcutta HC directs state EC to file report

Kolkata (West Bengal) : The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the state Election Commission to file a factual report in connection with the West Bengal Panchayat elections.

The High Court further ordered the Calcutta EC to stop all the election procedures including the scrutiny and withdrawal of nominations until April 16.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Calcutta EC had revoked its order to extend the last day of filing the nominations to April 9 following the incidents of violence among the members of different political parties.

There had been several clashes between the party workers of Trinamool Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party.

On April 6 more than 25 political workers were injured and several vehicles were torched in a clash between TMC and BJP workers.

Earlier on April 5, a BJP worker died after being allegedly thrashed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) cadres in West Bengal's Bankura district.

Panchayat elections in the state will be held in three phases from May 1 to May 5.