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MHA sends 4-member team to Bengal to assess post-poll violence situation: Sources

The Ministry of Home Affairs has sent a four-member team to Bengal to assess the situation on ground amid reports of post-poll violence in some parts, sources in the government have said.

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MHA sends 4-member team to Bengal to assess post-poll violence situation: Sources
The BJP claimed that its office in Asansol was allegedly vandalised by Trinamool Congress workers; and (right) CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury also shared photos as he condemned post-poll violence in West Bengal. (Photos:ANI/Twitter/@SitaramYechury)

Taking a serious view on reports of post-poll violence in Bengal, the Ministry of Home Affairs has sent a four-member team to the state, led by an Additional Secretary Level officer, to access the situation on the ground.

The team has left from Delhi and on its way to West Bengal.

The team will look into incidents of post-poll violence, the situation on the ground and alleged violence on political workers.

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“The four-member team led by an Additional Secretary level officer has left from Delhi for Kolkata to assess the situation in state,” said a government source to India Today.

The team is expected to prepare a report on the facts behind the violence which took place after the West Bengal election results in which BJP leaders were targeted.

On Wednesday, the home ministry dispatched a terse reminder to the West Bengal government to submit a detailed report on the post-poll violence in the state, warning it that the matter will be taken "seriously" in case it fails to do so, and asked it to take necessary measures to stop such incidents "without any loss of time", officials said.

“Home Ministry had asked for a detailed report at once. Unfortunately, the report has not been received so far and this shows that the state government has not taken any effective measures. In case, the report is not received, it will be viewed seriously,” said the government source India Today.

The home ministry reminded the West Bengal chief secretary that on May 3, it had sought an immediate report on the post-poll violence in the state.

However, the West Bengal government is yet to send the report, the officials said.

According to latest inputs, the violence has not stopped in West Bengal and this means that effective measures were not taken by the state government to control it, the letter said.

Therefore, necessary steps should be taken to prevent these incidents without any loss of time, it added.

A detailed report should be sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) immediately, it said.

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Munish Chandra Pandey

Munish Pandey is Editor and National Bureau Head with India Today Group. With over a decade's experience in crime and investigative journalism, Munish is known for his factual and investigative reports on white collar crimes, crimes involving politicians and corporate houses, violence, riots, international crimes and conspired killings. He started his career in Mumbai and has covered the underworld, killings, kidnapping, corruption cases, and terrorism. Munish keenly follows the Central Bureau of Investigation, Ministry of Home Affairs, Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department, Narcotics Control Bureau, Intelligence Bureau, R&AW, Delhi Police and Mumbai Police. From covering and reporting on the 2013 Mumbai triple blasts, Pune Bomb Blasts, Hyderabad bomb blast, he has covered and reported extensively on 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Malegaon case and Mumbai train attacks. Munish Pandey is among the few journalists who first reported on the growing network of terror outfit ISIS in India and their recruitments in the country. He is the only journalist to have interviewed narcotrafficker Vicky Goswami, who is currently serving time in a US jail, and Mamta Kulkarni while the two were in Kenya. He has also reported, extensively covered and broken exclusive stories on the PNB scam, the CBI vs CBI case, Nirav Modi-Mehul Choksi case, P Chidambaram's arrest and many others.

Munish is a silver medalist in Journalism from the University of Mumbai. He has also undertaken a Defence Correspondent Course of the Ministry of Defence where he spent a month with the Armed Forces at the Indo-China border in the northeast and the naval base at Vizag.

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