Hitches in north Bengal before polls

A police team from Sikkim patrols Hemtabad in North Dinajpur on Sunday. Picture by Kousik Sen 

TT, Alipurduar/ Raiganj: Shortage of policemen and polling personnel and protests were some of the hitches witnessed in some districts of north Bengal on Sunday.

In Alipurduar, family members of a minor girl who went to Samuktala police station to file a missing complaint of their daughter were told by the police that there was shortage of policemen to visit the spot from where the child was abducted.

"A youth and some of his friends abducted the girl as he wanted to marry our daughter. He has threatened that none can stop him from marrying her. We are worried but there are not enough policemen to rescue our child," Saddam Hossain, a relative of the girl.

The girl's family then communicates with the police chief of Alipurduar, A. Ravindranath, who passed orders to search the girl. "We have started working on the case," he said.

In Alipurduar's Madarihat, 30-odd employees could not reach the distribution centre of the block on time instead another 20 polling personnel were sent to the location.

In Falakata block, polling team members said they had to wait for three hours to get the policemen for their booths as there was a single counter from where the police personnel were assigned duties.

In North Dinajpur, a group of polling personnel resorted to road blockade for an hour at Panjipara on NH31 on Sunday morning alleging no proper arrangement of vehicles were made for them.

Sources said the polling parties alleged mismanagement on the part of Goalpokhor-II block.

"There was complete mismanagement and adequate vehicles were not there to take us to booths. Also, we were not provided with any route-map that helps to coordinate with the vehicles," said a schoolteacher who has been posted as a presiding booth officer.