36 arrested for supporting Maoist bandh

MIDNAPORE | 03 – 06 – 2009 |  A Bharat bandh called by the CPI (Maoists) led to the arrest of 36 activists, including 12 women, of the Banspahari unit of the Police Santras Birodhi Public Committee (PSBPC) of West Midnapore by the East Singbhum district police at Chakulia in Jharkhand.
The activists had taken out a rally in support of the bandh last evening. The incident has kicked up a storm in West Midnapore . As a result, 300 tribals under the banner of the PSBPC kept about 100 jawans of the Indian Reserve Police (IRB) gheraoed in their camp at Niguria in Belpahari from 11.00 a.m. today in protest. “They are demanding unconditional release of their fellow members of the unit detained in Chakulia, Jharkhand without any specific charge,” said Mr Jagannath Sardar, a PSBPC leader, adding that the confinement would continue till they were released. “Protesting against the arrest of the activists on grounds of staging a democratic movement, they have called a 12-hour bandh in East Singbhum , West Midnapore , Bankura and Purulia districts on Tuesday,” the PSBPC leader added.

It was learnt that over 1,200 PSBPC activists took out a rally of 400 two-wheelers from Banspahari yesterday in support of today’s Bharat bandh called by the Maoists to protest against the alleged “brutal killing” of Patel Sudhakar Reddy, a Central committee member and intelligence wing chief of the outfit in Andhra Pradesh, and also the LTTE leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, in a “fake encounter” last month. The rally went up to neighbouring Chakulia in East Singbhum .

While returning, the PSBPC activists were detained by the Chakulia police and were allegedly beaten up in custody. Seven two-wheelers and a mini truck of the PSBPC have also been seized. Meanwhile, the Maoists held an open rally at Kantapahari High School ground in Lalgarh last evening giving a fresh challenge to the police. The Maoists’ open rally, organized for the first time in the state, was attended by a few thousand people. The armed Maoists asked the audience to spread the Lalgarh brand agitation to various places by boycotting the police for their anti-people stance. Mr Gour Mohan Chakraborti, the spokesman of the outfit, was among the leaders of the outfit who spoke.