People's Democracy

Maoists On A Killing Spree In Western Bengal

THEY remained safely out of sight and confined their activities to spreading a few leaflets that bayed for the blood of CPI(M) workers. Their ‘action zone’ started to be squeezed out of Bengal and into the neighbouring states to the west.

The corporate media was quite, quite exasperated that their ‘heroes’ had sheepishly and in craven fashion that became of them rather well, pulled the shutter down on their usual acts of commission.

The reason why this was so, had of course, to be sought in the burgeoning people’s resistance to the depredations of these bunches of anarchist killers who call themselves Maoists. 

Realising that the ground was slipping and fast from beneath their feet, the Maoist desperadoes of late have again adopted the cowardly way of attacking solitary CPI(M) workers deep into the night chiefly in areas bordering the neighbouring western provinces of Jharkhand and Bihar.  In the attacks that have been organised by these killers, five CPI(M) workers have had to face a martyr’s death.

o                   On May 26, Comrade Snehashis Das, member of the Dharampur local committee of the CPI(M) was murdered at Lalgarh. 

o                   On June 14, Comrade Rabi Das, member of the Belpahari local committee was brutally killed at a stone’s throw distance of the local police station, near a tea shop. 

o                   On June 19, Comrades Uttam Sardar and Swapan Sardar, Party members both, were shot while they were asleep.  The murder took place at Kalinga Bil water body in Nadia. 

In all these cowardly attacks, carried out inevitably at the dead of the night, the Maoists received covert and sometimes overt support from the Jharkhandis and the discredited Trinamul Congress.  

On July 2, Comrade Chhoti Mahato, member of the Lalgarh local committee of the CPI(M) was shot and then stabbed to death in a grisly manner when he was cycling down an isolated stretch inside the Narcha forest area.   

Comrade Chhoti (who was 55 and leaves behind his wife, three daughters and two sons, one of them physically handicapped) was returning via narrow jungle path after attending a meeting of a cooperative unit when he was ambushed en route, and killed. Maoists’ posters were found strewn on his body that bore multiple gun shot and stab wounds.

Dipak Sarkar, secretary, Midnapore west district committee of the CPI(M) has condemned the incident.  A bandh was observed under the aegis of the Party in the Lalgarh area on July 3 condemning the dastardly killing.  Protest meetings and processions were organised in other areas of the district.

(B P)