Section 163 Imposed Outside Kolkata Strong Rooms Amid EVM Tampering Row; Mamata Spends 4 Hours at Bhabanipur Facility

Security tightened at seven locations until May 4 as TMC and BJP trade allegations over strong room access and postal ballot handling

Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) has been clamped outside strong rooms across Kolkata until May 4, with authorities moving to restrict unlawful assembly and movement in sensitive areas following overnight tensions over alleged unauthorised access to EVM storage facilities.

The restrictions cover seven locations including Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, Hastings House Complex, APC Roy Polytechnic College, St. Thomas Boys’ High School, Sakhawat Memorial Government Girls’ High School, Ballygunge Government High School, and Babasaheb Ambedkar Education University.

Late Night Visit

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spent approximately four hours inside the strong room at Sakhawat Memorial Government Girls’ High School late Thursday night, emerging around 12:30 am. Officials said she visited the facility after her party raised concerns over suspected irregular activity.

Speaking after the visit, Banerjee warned of strong resistance against any attempt to tamper with EVMs or manipulate the vote count. She alleged that central forces briefly stopped her from accessing the area outside the strong room before she was allowed entry.

Protest at Khudiram Kendra

Trouble first flared around 8 pm at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, where TMC candidate Kunal Ghosh and minister Shashi Panja staged a sit-in protest. The demonstration came after a video shared by the TMC on X showed what the party claimed were Election Commission officials along with BJP members attempting to open ballot boxes.

Election Commission officials tried to convince the TMC leaders, but they continued their strike until around 9 pm. Seeing the gathering of both TMC and BJP workers swell, a large number of security forces were deployed. By 9:30 pm, BJP workers accused the Bengal Police of lathi charge amid sloganeering and uproar.

EC Clarifies Position

The Election Commission of India has rejected all tampering allegations. In a statement, officials clarified that seven Assembly constituency strong rooms are located within the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, all of which were closed and sealed in the presence of candidates, election agents, and the General Observer after polling concluded. The final strong room was sealed at approximately 5:15 am.

The Commission stated that a separate strong room within the premises has been designated for postal ballots. Segregation of ballots was carried out from 4 pm in the corridor outside the strong rooms, and political parties were formally informed via email.

Political Reactions

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari claimed on social media that the party’s election agent, advocate Suryaneel Das, remained inside the strong room premises during Banerjee’s visit and kept a close watch to ensure no irregular activity took place.

State BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya said Banerjee is “unable to digest her defeat,” adding that if she believes the BJP and the Election Commission are synonymous, she should approach the Supreme Court. BJP leader Rahul Sinha asserted that Banerjee has “accepted defeat even before counting.”

TMC MP Saugata Roy maintained that “unauthorised people entered the strong room from outside” and alleged that some individuals from Gujarat were shouting slogans outside the school where votes for the Chief Minister’s constituency will be counted.

Security Beefed Up

Kolkata Police Joint Commissioner Rupesh Kumar said additional CAPF and state forces have been deployed in sensitive areas, with extra guard rails placed at key locations. Access to CCTV footage of strong rooms will be restricted to authorised personnel only, with parties required to submit names of agents who can view the feed.

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee will hold a virtual meeting on Friday with counting agents and key party stakeholders to review preparedness ahead of the vote count.