Kolkata: The Election Commission has directed the office of the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to monitor the situation in West Bengal to prevent post-poll violence.​

In this regard, the CEO's office held a virtual meeting with the District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police on Thursday. Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agrawal gave this message to the officers.​

After the end of the second and final phase of the Assembly elections on Wednesday, reports of sporadic political clashes have come from various districts of the state.​

Seeing this, a source at the Chief Electoral Officer's office said the Commission has taken proactive steps.​

According to Commission officials, the police had arrested about two thousand ‘miscreants’ as a precautionary measure before the first phase of the current Assembly elections. Almost the same number of ‘miscreants’ were arrested before the second phase as well.​

Those arrested individuals used to create an atmosphere of fear in several areas during the past elections.​

As a result of this step by the Commission, the polling has become largely peaceful. However, if they come out on bail, there is a risk of fresh unrest.​

Therefore, it was decided to monitor the situation in the state to prevent post-poll violence in the run-up to the vote counting on May 4.​

It may be noted that following the 2021 Assembly elections, allegations of post-poll violence surfaced in various districts of the state, including Kolkata.​

About 1,979 complaints of various crimes, including murder, rape, and arson, were filed in the Calcutta High Court.​

On the orders of the High Court, the National Human Rights Commission had prepared a report after investigating the ‘post-poll violence’.​

The High Court sought the state’s response on the matter.​

A Central Bureau of Investigation investigation was also ordered in some cases, such as murder and rape.​

Various cases of post-poll violence are still pending in various courts.​