Bengal bypolls: Humayun Kabir arrested after clash with police at polling booth

Kolkata: Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) founder and MLA Humayun Kabir was arrested on Tuesday after he allegedly threatened police and Central forces during polling in the Rejinagar Assembly constituency in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district.

Kabir was involved in repeated arguments and scuffles with police personnel deployed at polling locations. He was later taken into custody and brought to Rejinagar Police Station. Visuals also showed him grabbing a West Bengal Police sub-inspector by the collar during a confrontation.

Kabir had arrived at a polling station in Rejinagar in the morning to cast his vote. He was accompanied by family members. After voting, he spoke to the media and accused the ruling BJP and the state police of engaging in electoral malpractice.

He also threatened confrontation with the police and Central forces, claiming that police personnel had surrounded his residence.

“The police personnel have surrounded my house since this morning. If the police come to beat us, will they let them go? We will confront them with cudgels,” Kabir said.

He further alleged that voters in Rejinagar, particularly those belonging to the minority community, had faced harassment by the district police administration since the bypoll dates were announced.

Kabir claimed that houses of ordinary voters had been vandalised and looted and alleged that attempts had been made to “rob the women voters of their dignity”. He also accused Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari of deploying police personnel to polling booths and urged voters to confront them with cudgels.

A close contest is expected in Rejinagar, where more than 65 per cent of voters belong to the minority community. The constituency is witnessing a multi-cornered contest involving the BJP, AJUP, Congress, Mamata All India Trinamool Congress, Democratic Trinamool Congress, CPI(M) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP).

There are 14 candidates in the fray, while 34 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed in the constituency.

Kabir had won both the Naoda and Rejinagar Assembly seats in the West Bengal Assembly elections earlier this year. He later chose to retain Naoda, resulting in the bypoll in Rejinagar. His son, Golam Nabi Azad, is contesting the bypoll as the AJUP candidate.

With IANS inputs