The district nodal election officer Arnab Roy has been untraceable since yesterday (18 April) afternoon after he went out for lunch. Roy who was deployed at Bipradas Choudhury Polytechnic College poll duty was in-charge of the EVMs and VVPATs in the region.

The district police have been informed of this and have begun an investigation of the same.

Political Violence On The Upswing

In a hotly contested electoral battle between the incumbent Trinamool led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee and a resurgent BJP, the latter has been at the receiving end of several violent attacks over the past few weeks.

While a BJP worker was found dead hanging from a tree in the state’s Purulia district on 18 April morning, authorities found the body of a 42-year-old man that was left hanging at BJP’s booth office in Siliguri on 4 April.

West Bengal has generally been seen as a state more prone to political violence, which earlier used to take place between cadres of the Trinamool and the CPI (M). However, as the BJP has continued to make inroads into eastern state, it has faced stiff resistance from the entrenched local political establishment.

Also Read: Hindus Not Allowed To Vote In Muslim Dominated Area Of West Bengal’s Raiganj, Proxy Voting Rampant: Report

Nodal Officer Missing

Get Swarajya in your inbox.