5 killed in WB pre-poll violence

Barely 24 hours after the killing of four CPI-M Workers at Chopra in West Bengal’s North Dinajpur district in pre-panchayat poll violence, five persons including a Congress activist and four CPI-M workers were killed on Thursday even as senior state minister, Ashok Bhattacharya, was camping in the area.

District Magistrate Ariz Aftab said the miscreants also set 26 houses on fire. Police said here that the last rites of the four killed CPI-M workers were performed amidst a 12-hour bandh called by the party in the Chopra Police Station area in protest against the killings. The situation was under control, it said adding that the IGP (North Bengal), Bhupinder Singh, was camping in the area.