Maoist posters at Bengal secretariat, cops suspended

THE LATE sixties, when Naxalites overran Kolkata and Bengal, seems to be coming back to haunt the state. In the aftermath of the Nandigram violence, Maoist posters appeared, in all places on the walls of the seat of power in Bengal — the Writers’ Buildings. A shocked state administration sat up in alarm and pressed the panic button.

The black posters written in startling white in Bengali were first noticed opposite the famous India Coffee House on College Street in central Kolkata, on Friday, opposite the Presidency College, the hotbed of Naxalite activities in the mid-sixties. Later in the day it was noticed on gate number one of the state secretariat.

Outside Writers’ Building the poster was discovered by a security personnel on duty. He in turn alerted policemen on duty.

Police personnel tore the poster at Writers’ Buildings. This is the first time that Maoists have pasted a poster bang on the gates of Writers’ Building. The police are puzzled as to how the Naxalites managed to sneak in and paste a poster in such a high-security zone.

The posters near Coffee House were found around 8:30 am, after it opened. A woman who had come out early in the morning told television channels that she had seen a number of youths turn around and walk from where the poster had been put up. She went to the extent of saying that she had seen at least two of them loitering around in Presidency College on several occasions.

The posters lambasted the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leaders, including Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, CPI (M) State Secretary and Left Front chairman Biman Bose and Politburo member Benoy Konar and blamed them for the violence in Nandigram.

The posters also demanded stern action against Tapan Ghosh and Sukur Ali, the two Marxist leaders who were active in Nandigram and who allegedly masterminded the Chhoto Angaria killings several years ago.

The police have had photocopies of the posters made for investigations.

That the posters, especially at Writers’ Buildings had created a flap was obvious. The State Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray confirmed that the posters had been discovered. He said that the Commissioner of Police, G M Chakravarty was looking into it.

Asked whether there had been a security lapse at Writers Buildings he said, “The Police Commissioner will look into the matter.”

Tamilnadu: Police comb hills for suspected Maoists

MADURAI: Personnel of the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force (STF) have been combing the Megamalai Hills in Theni district for six suspected Maoists, after receiving information about their presence in Arugaveli village, located on the border of the hills.
The newcomers reportedly asked a farmer for directions to the Sundara Magalinga Hills, an important Saivite pilgrimage centre on Tuesday.Villagers inform that the group also distributed pamphlets encouraging school children to take up arms against capitalists.

On being informed of the events, South Zone IG Sanjeev Kumar and Dindigul Range DIG Krishnamoorthy conducted enquiries at the village. Subsequently, five STF teams, led by ADSP Tirunavukarusu, launched search operations along five routes, namely from the Pilavakkal dam to Jothi estate, Varusanadu to Pattupootchi and Varusanadu to Upputhurai, while a 30-member police team led by Theni SP R Sudhakar searched the villages in the valley, including Arugaveli and Atthuparai, on Wednesday. “The combing operation for the suspected Maoists will continue till the area is declared free of extremists,” a highly-placed police officer said

Jharkhandis take CM’s remark to heart

Statesman News Service

MIDNAPORE, Dec. 13: The Jharkhand Party (Naren) president and Binpur MLA, Mrs Chuni Bala Hansda, has sharply reacted to the chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s recent remark that “the jharkhandis should move to Jharkhand, their homeland, as by working jointly with the Maoists they have been killing the civilians, particularly Marxist cadres and the policemen.

Over the past six years, more than 20 CPI-M workers and 19 policemen were killed in Midnapore West, Bankura and Purulia by Maoists, the chief minister alleged.

By geographical and historical reasons, these three district are the heart of the Jharkhandis, 90 per cent of whom are tribals. And by making such a derogatory remark, unbecoming on the part of a state’s chief minister, the CPI-M has hurt the sentiments of the tribals, Mr Hansda regretted.

Addressing open session of the Midnapore West CPI-M’s district conference
at Kalaikunda on Monday, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee alleged: “They are Jharkhandis in day time while Maoists at night”. As the chief minister of the state he should not have made such an unwarranted and bad statement. Is West Bengal his own ‘khas taluk’ that the Marxists alone are entitled to live in the state which is part of the Indian Republic?” the JKP leader asked.