Midnapore:
Maoists have struck again in West Bengal. Naxals have killed two CPM worker and kidnapped three others in the state.
Hacked bodies of CPM workers Tapan Mudi and Diliil Mahato have been found in the Sharpura forest of West Midnapore. Both men were kidnapped on Wednesday night.
Three others allegedly kidnapped by Maoista on Wednesday night from the Goaltore area are still missing.
The man killed, Tapan Mudi, was called out of his house by strangers in a village near Binpur in West Midnapore at 9.30 on Wednesday night. He never returned. A few hours later, his body was found in a forest nearby.
The police is approaching the corpse with caution. Naxals often rig the bodies of their victims with explosives, or lie in wait nearby to ambush policemen who come to collect the bodies.
Reacting to the incident, Sitaram Yechury says, "This is unfortunately the news we are getting. So far 70 of our cadres have been killed in the past few weeks. This is the level of violence they are perpetuating there. The basic aim is to try and eliminate CPM workers in these areas. This has again proved the nexus between Mamata and Maoists. Take the case of the train that was hijacked, everything was cleaned up, except the graffiti demanding Chattradhar Mahato's release. Why was that not wiped off."
Three other party workers were abducted by tribal agitators from Goaltore area in restive West Midnapore district on Thursday.
On Tuesday, supporters of the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA) seized the Bhubaneswar-Delhi Rajdhani Express at Banstala in the district, but it was freed by security forces after a five-hour hostage drama. All passengers were safe.
West Midnapore has been witnessing unrest since November last year against alleged police atrocities at Lalgarh. The agitation started after police raided the homes of tribals, shortly after West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and then union ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasada narrowly escaped a landmine blast at Salboni.
The PCPA under the leadership of Chhatradhar Mahato had "liberated" Lalgarh and had run free for nine months before the central forces and the local police recaptured the areas.
(With PTI inputs)