Poll officials assaulted while removing political graffiti in Durgapur, central forces deployed

Tension erupted in the Karangapara Post Office area of the Durgapur West Assembly constituency on Sunday after two Election Commission officials were allegedly assaulted while removing political graffiti from a government building. The incident occurred amid the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct ahead of the Assembly elections, which mandates the removal of political party writings from government property.

Suryakanta Pal and Bittu Gupta, employees of the Durgapur Sub-Divisional Magistrate’s office, had been assigned to erase political graffiti from government walls in accordance with Election Commission directives. On Sunday, the two officials arrived at the local Post Office building to remove wall writings associated with the Trinamool campaign.

According to allegations, after completing the task and preparing to leave, several local residents dragged the officials out of their vehicle and assaulted them. Bittu Gupta claimed that the attackers questioned why the wall had been erased and began beating them, adding that those involved identified themselves as Trinamool members. The incident quickly escalated, creating a tense situation in the area.

Following the clash, police from the Coke Oven Police Station and personnel from central forces rushed to the spot and worked to bring the situation under control. BJP district general secretary Abhijit Dutta condemned the incident and said the party would lodge a formal complaint with the Election Commission. However, Trinamool worker Somnath Das rejected the allegations, claiming BJP workers were attempting to create unrest. He acknowledged that an altercation occurred but denied that any physical assault took place.