Kamduni to boycott polls to protest probe delay

Pradeep Mukherjee,the headmaster of Free Primary School who was at the helm of the rape-murder protests after the incident,has been given election duty.

Mukherjee said he was not an elector since he resides outside the panchayat area. However,he knew for sure that Kamduni villagers would stay away from the poll process. “Under Kirtipur II gram panchayat,the villagers are supposed to vote only for the zilla parishad as the others are uncontested. Going by the sentiments of the villagers,I have a feeling they will not vote,” he said.

Tumpa Kayal and Mausumi Kayal,who had been at the centre of media attention after they were tagged “Maoists” and “CPM supporters” by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during her visit to Kamduni,said they too would refrain from voting. Tumpa said,“I am at my in-laws and will not vote.” Mausumi said,“We are not interested any more. The recent incident has shaken us all.”

A Trinamool Congress supporter in the area said they were skeptical about the turnout. “Of the 952 voters here,I think hardly 10 per cent will turn up,” he said,adding that they were not even carrying out the usual door-to-door campaign. “The recent incident has done a lot of damage,” he said.

Molina Kayal,a Kamduni resident,said she would stay indoors tomorrow. “The rape and what followed left a bad taste in the mouth. We would rather stay away from the poll process,” she said.

Shop owner Bula Ghosh said she would spend the day with family. “Ever since the incident,we have been through a lot. It is like our own daughter has been raped and killed,and this is a small way of showing support for her family and protesting the government’s indifference,” she said.

Trinamool gram pradhan Sayeeda Bibi was,however,optimistic. “This village has a Trinamool majority and those who believe in the principles of the Trinamool and Mamata Banerjee will go to vote,” she said.

A senior official of Barasat police station said they did not anticipate trouble but would be prepared to tackle any untoward situation.

Kamduni village near Barasat,about 20 km from Kolkata,in North 24-Parganas district votes in the third phase of panchayat polls on Friday.