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Shillong, July 9: The toll in election-related violence in West Bengal has risen to 20, with a Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker being stabbed to death in Malda. The incident occurred in Baishnavnagar on Saturday night following the elections.
According to sources, the victim, Matiur Rahman, an active TMC worker, was attacked and fatally stabbed by a group of men when he went to cast his vote at a polling station. The ruling TMC has accused the opposition party, Congress, of being responsible for the murder.
In addition, India Today reported, six others were injured in the clash. The police have initiated an investigation into the incident.
Among the casualties is Ajahar Lashkar, a 62-year-old TMC worker, who was critically injured in a clash in Basanti. A confrontation erupted between the TMC and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) in Basanti, South 24 Parganas, resulting in ten people sustaining injuries. Lashkar is currently receiving treatment in the ICU.
The rural polls in Bengal were marred by violence as voting concluded on Saturday. Instances of ballot box vandalism and bomb attacks against rivals were reported from various villages.
The incidents of widespread violence have triggered a war of words between the ruling TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the latter demanding a re-poll at several polling booths.