TMC MPs allege central forces baton-charged civilians outside polling booth in Bengal

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghosh on Wednesday alleged that central security forces baton-charged civilians, including women and a child, near a polling booth in South 24 Parganas district during the West Bengal elections. In a post on social media, Ghosh accused the forces of ''unbelievable violence'' and claimed that after baton-charging women, the paramilitary personnel did not relent and went on ''hitting and injuring a child''. Ghosh added, ''This is unacceptable. Those responsible must be brought before the law.'' She also criticised the role of the Centre, taking aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging that such incidents were being carried out under their watch. Though Ghosh did not name the constituency, she referred to the lathi-charge by forces on women and others at Falta in the district. A senior EC official said security forces lathi-charged a group -- consisting of both men and women -- outside a booth in the Belsingh area of Falta following allegations of an attempt to influence voters. ''After repeated appeals to disperse, the forces took action to disperse the crowd and detained two persons in connection with the incident,'' the official said. Protesters, however, alleged that the security personnel carried out an unprovoked baton charge, injuring several women voters standing in a queue outside booth number 186. They also claimed that a child accompanying his mother sustained head injuries. The incident comes amid heightened political activity in the constituency, where special police observer Ajay Pal Sharma has been deployed to ensure free and fair polling. The EC official said a report has been sought, and if the child was found to be injured and the involvement of any security personnel was found, action will be taken. In an indirect remark on the same incident, TMC Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra described the security forces as ''Amit Shah's army of butchers who don't stop at hurting even an innocent child during their atrocities on common people on voting day.''

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