Kolkata: Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) jawans led by a commandant knocked on the doors of Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim well past Monday midnight to have an interaction with him relating to the second-phase poll scheduled on Wednesday. The unscheduled meet proved to be ‘uncomfortable’ for the first citizen as he kept on finding the purpose of such a visit. After an initial inquiry about his probable whereabouts on the poll day, the visiting officer reportedly advised Hakim to refrain from intimidation of voters, else face the consequences. Though Hakim repeatedly tried to clear the air about intimidation and said it was not his job as a candidate for Kolkata Port seat to get involved in intimidation, the officer reportedly told him that he would be kept under vigil.According to a source, the conversation lasted for 20 minutes. Later, talking to reporters, Hakim burst into anger and asked whether the CAPF officials had the authority to reach a candidate’s home at midnight and harass him or her in the name of seeking information about polls. “I have never seen such an activism on the part of the central force personnel during any election. They don’t spare the mayor at midnight and hesitate to issue veiled threats to a candidate. I strongly condemn this,” said Hakim.CAPF sources said a team was on an area domination along with a cop observer. “It was a routine drill where we asked contestants to follow law. There was no targeted knocking on the door of Hakim,” said a source. The EC is yet to respond to Hakim’s allegations.
