Voters wait in a queue to cast their ballots at a polling station in Madhyamgram area, on the outskirts of Kolkata yesterday. The voting was held in 91 municipal corporations in the state.
IANS/Kolkata
One person was shot dead and another received bullet injuries in West Bengal during elections to 91 civic bodies yesterday.
Voter turnout at the close of polling was 60%, an official said.
While one person, Indrajit Singh said to be a ruling Trinamool Congress activist, was shot dead at Katwa in Burdwan, another suffered bullet injuries in North 24 Parganas district.
Trinamool leaders have pointed fingers at Congress activists over Singh’s killing.
Polling in several districts across north and south Bengal was temporarily suspended after tremors, lasting over a minute, were felt following a 7.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal yesterday.
The tremors led to temporary suspension of polling in many booths in the districts of Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpur, Murshidabad and Howrah.
“At 3pm, the scheduled close of voting, about 60% turnout was recorded. It is likely to go up as there are many voters still queuing up to cast their vote,” said state election commission official Sabyasachi Ghosh.
“While the tremors created panic among the voters for a brief period, several elderly voters had to be given medical attention after feeling uncomfortable and dizzy,” said the official.
In North 24 Parganas’ Titagarh, a voter was allegedly shot in the leg while Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Govind Pal alleged that Trinamool activists fired at him but he escaped unhurt.
