A day before the Lok Sabha election results, it has come to light that 400 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be retained in West Bengal to prevent post-poll violence.
Citing sources, ANI reported that a total of 40000 personnel will remain in the TMC-ruled State till 19th June 2024 i.e. two weeks after the declaration of the Lok Sabha election results.
The CAPF companies will consist mostly of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel. There would also be jawans from the Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP), and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
To manage post-election violence, nearly 400 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) companies (over 40,000 personnel) will remain in West Bengal until June 19. A significant portion of the CAPFs will consist of the Central Reserve Police Force: Official sources
— ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2024
An official told ANI, “The decision was taken anticipating post-poll violence in West Bengal. The ongoing deployment of 400 CAPF companies in West Bengal aims to establish area dominance, build confidence among citizens, and ensure a peaceful environment while maintaining law and order in the state.”
It must be mentioned that 900 companies were deployed in West Bengal across different phases of elections.
2021 post-poll violence in West Bengal
Using violence as an instrument to subdue their political opponents has become a distinctive feature of the TMC rule in West Bengal. Ever since the Mamata Banerjee-led retained power in the state, the persecution of dissenters and opposition workers has only intensified.
More than a dozen BJP workers lost their lives in the post-poll violence that ensued following the victory of the TMC party in the assembly elections. Some reports said women in West Bengal were raped, assaulted and, in some cases, even killed, just because they adhered to a different political ideology.
In 2021, a victim who was raped by the TMC goons in front of her father shared her harrowing ordeal with OpIndia. She narrated how she was attacked and sexually assaulted by perpetrators associated with the TMC party.
In the aftermath of the assembly election results, TMC goons wreaked havoc, attacking and plundering the houses of their opponents. In one such attack, TMC goons lynched BJP worker Avijit Sarkar to death.
