RG Kar rape-murder victim's mother faces TMC protests for 'influencing voters' in booth

BJP's Panihati candidate Ratna Debnath, also the mother of RG Kar rape-murder victim, faced protests by TMC workers when she visited a booth in the assembly constituency in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, where polling was underway on Wednesday. She also accused the ruling party activists of preventing her from leaving the booth premises, following an altercation with them over an allegation of influencing voters. ''When I was coming out of the booth, I noticed an elderly woman who looked infirm and had difficulty walking. I requested those present there to help the person cast her vote. But as I stepped out, TMC activists accused me of influencing the voter and prevented me from leaving the spot,'' she told reporters. Central security force jawans helped her leave the place. She urged the central forces to take action against those who are creating trouble and intimidating voters. An Election Commission (EC) official said the poll panel has sought a report into the alleged incident. A local TMC leader accused Debnath of trying to influence voters and disrupt the election process. ''No one threatened her. She was staging a drama,'' he claimed. At another booth in Sodepur area, Debnath alleged that black ink was used on the electronic voting machine (EVM) in such a way that the BJP symbol was not visible to electors. She also claimed that the beep after pressing the EVM button was not heard even after the scheduled time was over, and suspected that the voting machine had malfunctioned. A TMC agent at the booth accused the BJP nominee of trying to create a fuss and disrupt the poll process. No such complaint has been received from the BJP candidate so far, the EC official said. Earlier in the day, Debnath cast her vote in Sodepur and said women's safety would be her top priority. She exuded confidence that people would vote for a regime change and free West Bengal from ''the misrule of TMC''. ''The TMC failed to address the worsening law and order situation in the state. Only one arrest has been made in the RG Kar case. How did the accused get access to a secure place supposedly guarded by hospital security?'' she told reporters. Twenty months after the rape and murder of the young doctor inside Kolkata's state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital triggered nationwide outrage, the politics of that crime has caught up with Bengal's election battlefield. ''Apart from my daughter, hundreds of women have also been facing atrocities in West Bengal under the TMC rule. My priority is women's safety,'' the BJP nominee said. Debnath expressed confidence in winning the Panihati seat and said, ''We have to ensure that not a single vote is lost''. The BJP candidate alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government had tried to hush up the brutal rape and murder of her medic daughter. She has been fielded against Tirthankar Ghosh, the son of sitting TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh, and CPIM's Kalatan Dasgupta. Voting was underway in 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, amid unprecedented security arrangements. The first phase of the assembly elections in 152 seats on April 23 had recorded a turnout of 93.19 per cent - the highest ever in the state. Counting of votes will take place on May 4.

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